Green fundraising outpaces Morrow in superintendent race

Democrat Mo Green is raking in the donations in the statewide race for N.C. superintendent of public instruction.

Green raised more than six times the amount of Republican opponent Michele Morrow in the second fundraising quarter.

“Mo has made history in North Carolina,” said Misti Williams, Green’s campaign manager, in a statement to The Center Square, noting that no other candidate for the statewide office has raised even close to this much before.

Green ended the second quarter with $578,384, according to campaign finance reports .

Morrow had only $14,000 left at the end of that same period, which ended June 30, spending $55,013.

Green had already spent more than four times that amount, with his campaign’s total expenditures at $230,810.

Morrow remains hopeful though, despite the financial gap in the race, and this wouldn’t be the first time she won a race despite challenges. In the spring primary, she upset incumbent Republican N.C. Superintendent Catherine Truitt with very little cash on hand.

Morrow attributed the win to her campaign’s grassroots movement of “volunteers and supporters.”

Green won the Democratic primary with 66 percent of the votes cast in the March primary race, beating out two other candidates.

The last time North Carolina elected a Democrat as superintendent was in 2012.

While Morrow is running on school safety, school choice and the removal of diversity, equity and inclusion policies from schools in North Carolina, Green emphasizes working to improve students’ mental health and championing public education and educators.

Williams told The Center Square that Green’s campaign wants to elect an “exceptional candidate” during a “critical juncture in North Carolina’s history of public schools.”

Green received a little more than $600,000 in contributions from individuals in the second quarter, while Morrow received $45,000.

Morrow told The Center Square she is still confident in her path to win the election.

“Our path to victory: Simply speaking the truth,” she said. “It’s really pretty easy when you have no hidden agenda, only a genuine concern for our children, their parents and the future of this state and our great nation.”

Political advertising is projected to reach $362 million in North Carolina in the 2024 election cycle, meaning there will likely be historic spending in races across the state.

This makes North Carolina the 11th-highest in the country, according to a recent report released by AdImpact.

Recently, Planned Parenthood announced that North Carolina will be one of 14 states targeted by a $40 million ad campaign looking to flip the state Democratic.

Planned Parenthood Action Fund, a branch of Planned Parenthood working on that initiative, endorsed Green .