Republican Sen. Thom Tillis’s campaign said Tuesday he raised $1.2 million in the third quarter for what’s expected to be one of the nation’s closest Senate races.
Tillis’s campaign says the incumbent has nearly $4.9 million cash on hand, considerably more than Democrat Cal Cunningham, who has $1.1 million left to spend.
Cunningham – a Raleigh attorney who entered the race in June -- raised $1 million in the third quarter, just short of Tillis’ $1.2 million.
Tillis also has a challenger for the March 3rd primary, Raleigh businessman Garland Tucker. Tucker says Tillis has not supported President Donald Trump enough.
Tucker began the race by loaning his campaign $700,000. He raised $254,000 in the third quarter.
Tillis’s campaign has spent more than $2 million on television ads touting his endorsement from President Trump. This week, it launched a Web site attacking Tucker for, among other things, not supporting the president enough. One of the attacks against Tucker is that he doesn’t think the president’s personal life is “exemplary.”
Cunningham, a former state senator from Lexington, is facing two other Democrats in the primary: State Sen. Erica Smith and Mecklenburg Commissioner Trevor Fuller.