Cal Cunningham, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, said yesterday that he raised $320,000 during the fourth quarter of 2009.
Two other candidates, Elaine Marshall and Ken Lewis, have not yet released their fundraising totals. All three are competing for the Democratic nomination to take on the Republican incumbent, Sen. Richard Burr, in the Nov. 2 general election -- a race that is sure to be very expensive.
Democratic leaders and political observers are closely watching the candidates' fundraising activities, because a candidate's ability to raise money now, at this early stage, is considered one sign of whether the candidate can be a viable challenger in a statewide general election.
Cunningham's campaign said he received donations from nearly 750 people and that he is on track to meet his fundraising goals.
Cunningham, a former state legislator from Lexington, entered the race later than either Marshall or Lewis.
He didn't announce his candidacy until Dec. 7, after he received support from party leaders in Washington.
Thomas Mills, an adviser to Marshall, said that the Marshall campaign is still tabulating how much money Marshall raised in the fourth quarter. But he said that it won't match the amount that Cunningham raised.
Mills said that Cunningham has a fundraising advantage because he is backed by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in Washington.
Mills also said that Marshall has been dealing with the death of her husband at the end of November, so she didn't do as much fundraising as she otherwise would have.
Marshall is North Carolina's secretary of state.
The third candidate, Lewis, who is a lawyer from Chapel Hill, will release his fundraising information on Jan. 31, his spokeswoman said.
All of the candidates are required to file year-end fundraising reports by the end of the month.
jromoser@wsjournal.com
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