NC Secretary of State Elaine Marshall picked up a big endorsement from the Charlotte Observer earlier this week in her quest for the US Senate seat currently held by Republican Senator Richard Burr. Chapel Hill lawyer Ken Lewis received the endorsement of The Independent Weekly on April 14. On Wednesday, Marshall’s rival, Cal Cunningham, a former state Senator, announced that his campaign had raised more money than Marshall or Lewis combined during the first quarter.
Cunningham’s campaign says it has raised more than $344,500 from 1,535 supporters during the first three months of 2010. Cunningham’s campaign will report $478,000 cash on hand at the close of the quarter with no outstanding debt. The campaign claims that 70 percent of the campaign’s donors are North Carolinians. Last week, Cunningham became the first of the six Democratic candidates to run a television ad.
According to campaign finance records, the Elaine Marshall campaign raised $163,449.49 during the first quarter and has $180,891.48 on hand while reporting a debt of $71,500. Ken Lewis’ campaign reports that it raised $108,497.10 and currently has $94,385.06 on hand and no debt.
On Sunday, the Charlotte Observer embraced Marshall’s campaign, stating: “Marshall is authentic, smart, experienced and public-service oriented. She has taken on special interests and won. At the same time, she is not the most dynamic campaigner in the race. She does not speak with passion about all the biggest issues the nation faces. And despite her electoral success, she finished a distant third in the 2002 Senate primary, behind Erskine Bowles and Dan Blue. Still, she has the personality, record and commitment to get elected and be an effective advocate for North Carolinians.”
The Charlotte Observer editorial staff also praised Cunningham and Lewis as impressive candidates but cited Lewis’ lack of elective experience and Cunningham’s reversal of his initial decision not to run for the Democratic nomination as good reasons to support Marshall in the May 4 primary.
“Cunningham decided against running last fall, and changed his mind only after the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee pledged to help him win,” the Charlotte Observer states. “We prefer candidates who are passionate and confident enough to run whether they have blessings from the D.C. brass or not.”
The Independent Weekly endorsed Lewis’ candidacy in an April 14 editorial.
“Ken Lewis leads on this issue, and that’s why we’re endorsing him in this election,” the Independent Weekly editorial states. “He provides two decades of experience as a community development and entrepreneurial lawyer, creating jobs that created other jobs.”
The Independent contrasted Lewis to both the campaigns of Cunningham and Lewis, stating, “[Cunningham] doesn’t provide the same authenticity as Lewis” and “[Marshall] doesn’t have the same kind of upward mobility and outward zeal.”
Upcoming candidate appearances:
Cal Cunningham will meet with student leaders on the Wake Forest University campus tonight (Wednesday) at 7 p.m. The meeting will be held in Wingate Hall, Room 202.
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