Politics

Challengers outraised incumbents in primary

By Bill Moss, Published: March 21, 2024

Votes followed the money as the Republican challengers who won decisive victories in the March 5 primary far outraised the two incumbents.

Jay Egolf raised the most money by far, $33,076, followed by Sheila Franklin, at $16,650. Daniel Andreotta raised $12,850 followed by David Hill, with $10,800. The two incumbents actually outspent Franklin, who had $8,880 cash on hand at the close of the Jan. 1-Feb. 17 campaign finance period, although the Feb. 17 reporting deadline did not include the two weeks before primary election day.

Franklin won 64 percent of the vote to defeat Andreotta while Egolf defeated Hill by 58 to 42 percent. Franklin faces Democrat Erik Weber in the Nov. 5 general election. Egolf has no opponent.

The largest donors were retired developer Fritz McPhail and his wife, Renee, who were among major funders of the fight against a proposed storage unit development in the Crab Creek community. The couple donated $8,000 to Franklin’s campaign.

Weber raised $4,341 and spent $2,525. He received $525 from the North Carolina Democratic Party as an in-kind donation on Jan. 17.

Here are the candidates’ donors of $500 or more and major campaign expenditures:

• Egolf: Bill and Rebecca Boswell, $1,375; Les Boyd, $500; Kirby Johnson, $500; Chuck McGrady, $1,211 (in kind, campaign reception). Expenditures: Reliant Service (direct mail), $16,688; Rumble Up (robocalls), $2,052; campaign signs, $5,799; Hendersonville Lightning, $605; WHKP, $880; WTZQ, $880.
• Franklin: Ann Maliff, $500; Fritz McPhail, $4,000; Renee McPhail, $4,000; Jennifer Morgan, Virginia Beach, $700; Adam Pressley, $1,000; Bob Quattlebaum, $1,500. Expenditures: Reliant Service (direct mail), $10,518; campaign signs, $1,196.
• Andreotta: Ben Campen, $500; Boyd “Bub” Hyder, $500; Kirby Johnson, $500; Stephen Wilkie, $500. Expenditures: AAA advertising (billboards), $1,200; Rumble Up (text messages), $1,716; WHKP, $1,880; campaign signs, $694.
• Hill: Ben Campen, $500; Marilyn Gordon, $1,000; Boyd “Bub” Hyder, $1,000; Kerry Lindsay, $500; Maxine Quattlebaum, $1,500. Expenditures: AAA Advertising (billboard), $1,200; Hendersonville Lightning, $1,210; Meta Platforms (Facebook ads), $4,590; Printville, $1,462; Rumble Up (text messages) $2,806; T.J.’s Customs, $4,398; Vistaprint (business cards and posters), $2,886; WHKP, $1,880.