Hunt leads Weatherman in fundraising in lieutenant governor race

(The Center Square) – Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor Rachel Hunt ended the recent campaign finance reporting period with nearly 10 times the amount of money in the bank as Republican opponent Hal Weatherman.

By the end of the second fundraising period on June 30, Hunt had $1.1 million in the bank, while Weatherman had $114,000.

Hunt raised $888,000 in individual donations, while Weatherman raised only $390,000, campaign finance reports show.

The primary was a challenge for Weatherman, who faced off against 10 other candidates on Super Tuesday, then won a runoff in May. He spent $350,000.

On the other hand, Hunt won her primary with 70% of the vote and only spent $293,000.

Hunt, state senator from the Charlotte area, has made abortion a key part of her campaign.

“From the bottom to the top of the ticket, it's time to stop extremists who want to ban safe and legal abortion,” she said in a recent social media post .

Planned Parenthood has endorsed Hunt, the daughter of former four-term Democratic Gov. Jim Hunt, and promised to help fund a major ad campaign looking to flip seats in the state to Democrats.

Overall, North Carolina is projected to have $362 million in political advertising in the 2024 election season, making it the 11th-highest in the country.

On the other hand, Weatherman, backed by former president Donald Trump, has aligned himself with conservative stances like allowing for more school choice, protecting the Second Amendment, and opposing men playing in women’s sports.He's frequently on the campaign trail at events with Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, another liked by Trump and bidding to become governor.

North Carolina is considered one of seven consensus swing states, with a pattern of splitting the ticket when it comes to president and governor. Democratic candidates for president have won the state only twice in the last 60 years, and Republicans have become governor just three times since Daniel Lindsey Russell (1897-1901).

Unlike some states, lieutenant governors are not coupled with governors as a ticket. Yet, there’s been just three Republicans since Russell – Robinson and Dan Forest the last 12 years, and Jim Gardner (1989-93) more than 30 years ago.

The last Democrat to win lieutenant governor in was Walter Dalton in 2008, who won by a margin of 200,000 votes.

Before Bev Perdue in November 2008, Hunt's father in November 1976 was the last to ascend directly from lieutenant governor to governor.