N.C. Democrats Raised More Money than Republicans in '02

This is something of a shocker, a report from the Center for Public Integrity showing that in 2002 North Carolina Democrats raised almost $13 million to the Republicans' $4 million ... and couldn't do any better with than dollar advantage than they did! That money IS credited with keeping the N.C. Senate in Democrat hands, but there's little else to point to with pride.

The North Carolina Democratic Party also attracted the largest single donors. Crandall Bowles, the wife of Erskine Bowles, gave $205,000 to the state party, and Stephen Bing, a California screenwriter, gave $200,000 to the state party. By contrast, the top contributor for Republicans was SAS Institute founder James Goodnight of Cary, who gave $80,000. (It's interesting to note that the Eastern Band of Cherokees gave $62,000 to the Democrats. The tribe has been looking to invest some of its big profits from video gambling on influencing politics.)