{"id":4280,"date":"2020-10-15T17:38:38","date_gmt":"2020-10-15T17:38:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=4280"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:52:55","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T15:52:55","slug":"fayetteville-house-race-heats-up-democrat-outraises-incumbent-by-600000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2020\/10\/15\/fayetteville-house-race-heats-up-democrat-outraises-incumbent-by-600000\/","title":{"rendered":"Fayetteville House race heats up, Democrat outraises incumbent by $600,000"},"content":{"rendered":"
With less than three weeks until Election Day, it’s game on for candidates in North Carolina\u2019s most competitive congressional district.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For the second time this year, Democratic challenger Pat Timmons-Goodson raised significantly more money than her opponent, according to the latest Federal Election Commission filings. She raked in nearly $1.8 million in contributions between July 1 and Sept. 30 with the vast majority \u2014 nearly $1.7 million \u2014 coming from individual donors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Republican incumbent Rep. Richard Hudson brought in just over $1.1 million, with more than $660,000 from party committees and PACs. Timmons-Goodson had previously outraised him during the second quarter filing period by about $517,000.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Democrat shelled out more money than she raised, spending upwards of $1.8 million\u00a0 in the third quarter. She\u2019s left with $612,000 in cash on hand.<\/span><\/p>\n Hudson spent almost $1.4 million this quarter. But in contrast to his opponent, he still has more than $1.5 million in cash on hand heading into the race\u2019s final stretch.<\/span><\/p>\n Timmons-Goodson confirmed her financial haul <\/span>on Twitter<\/span><\/a> over a week before the FEC released official numbers. Hudson\u2019s campaign did not release numbers before the Oct. 15 deadline, which perhaps foreshadowed his surprisingly low numbers.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPeople who give money to campaigns invest smartly,\u201d said Chris Cooper, a professor of political science at Western Carolina University. \u201cSo the fact that she can put up those kinds of numbers says that there\u2019s, at least, kind of a proof of concept\u2014an idea that\u2019s possible.\u201d Now, for Timmons-Goodson, it\u2019s a matter of turning those dollars into votes, he added.<\/span><\/p>\n The gap in fundraising isn\u2019t the only reason to think things are tightening up in the 8th Congressional District, which stretches from Charlotte\u2019s eastern suburbs through Fayetteville and Cumberland County. Here\u2019s why this race could still be up for grabs:<\/span><\/p>\n Yard signs and mailers and ads, oh my!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s getting aggressive with the advertising here,\u201d said George Breece, an Army veteran and former state representative who lives in Fayetteville. He said he gets three to four mailers a week (some that are \u201cas big as a damn car\u201d), receives political phone calls and gets inundated with ads on radio and TV.<\/span><\/p>\n Both candidates spent more than $1.1 million on digital, radio and TV advertising, according to the most recent FEC filings. Factoring in mailers would bump the total even higher.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s typical for campaigns to advertise more as the election draws closer, Cooper said. But when there\u2019s exponential growth in the amount of ad spending, that\u2019s a sign of a competitive race.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt has been and remains the most competitive district in the state,\u201d he said of the 8th District.<\/span><\/p>\nAdvertising is heating up \u2014 and voters are noticing<\/h2>\n
\u2018Judge Softie\u2019: Hudson releases first attack ad against Timmons-Goodson<\/h2>\n