Updated: Buncombe candidate spent $250K in commissioner race

The nine candidates running for the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners have spent about $500,000 on commercials, signs and other campaign expenses. One candidate is responsible for more than half that spending.

The Buncombe County Board of Elections released third quarter campaign finance reports Tuesday, showing total candidate spending through Oct. 22.

Spending is high in the race for the board's leadership position. Chuck Archerd, a Republican running for chairman of the board, has spent $255,360.05. His campaign obtained most of that money — $230,000 — through a loan from Archerd, a commercial real estate investor.

Democrat Brownie Newman has spent $59,101.69. For both candidates, the bulk of the money goes to TV and radio commercials and other advertising.

Archerd and Newman have raised funds with nearly equal success. Archerd collected $38,757 from individuals and committees, whereas Newman collected $34,410. The main difference in spending stems from personal loans. Newman, founder of Headwaters Solar, loaned his campaign $42,000.

“I was surprised to see the total amount being spent," Newman said. "I think there are things more important than just the amount of money you spend in an election. I think the support I have from the teachers in Buncombe County — the Buncombe County Association of Educators support — and support from the North Carolina Sierra Club, I think support form those organizations matters a lot."

That support is not financial, Newman said, but those organizations have endorsed him.

Archerd said he's spending to offset Newman's incumbency advantage. Newman has served on Asheville City Council, and he's represented District 1 (central Buncombe) on the Board of Commissioners since 2012. He currently serves as vice-chairman.

“As my opponent said, it’s not really about the money, it’s about the issues," Archerd said. "Given that he was former Asheville City Council, I needed to get the issues out, and (spending) is what it took.”

Archerd's campaign focuses on streamlining county finances and supporting state infrastructure projects to ameliorate traffic congestion.

The incumbency advantage is real, and it's worth money, said Chris Cooper, head of the department of political science and public affairs at Western Carolina University.

“It’s certainly worth tens of thousands of dollars, and that’s partially because of name recognition," he said. "It makes sense for a challenger to spend more than an incumbent. The incumbency advantage is worth a lot of money. At the (national) congressional level, it can be worth as much as $1 million."

Archerd said he also has to spend more because he came into the race late. The Buncombe County GOP announced his candidacy Aug. 8, several months after the former candidate, Miranda DeBruhl, dropped out of the race. Newman announced his candidacy in August 2015.

The spending in this race looks more like some state legislative races, Cooper said.

For example, Chuck Edwards, the incumbent running for NC Senate in district 48, had spent about $123,235 as of July 8. His third quarter campaign finance, which were due Oct. 31, are not yet available. Challenger Norm Bossert has spent $24,017 as of Oct. 22.

In a competitive race, challenger Rhonda Cole Schandevel has spent $374,326 in an effort to win NC House district 188, which is currently held by Michelle Presnell. Her third quarter campaign finance reports were not available, but she had spent $1,622 as of June 30.

The chair candidates are not the best fundraisers among the nine hopefuls running for a Buncombe County Board of Commissioners seat. Democrat Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, who is running unopposed in the general election, raised $49,640, mostly during the primary, and Republican Mike Fryar has raised $42,204.30.

Campaign spending in the commissioners race has been notable since the primary, but long-term trends in spending are not readily discernable because Buncombe purges most campaign finance documents after a few years.

Candidates have commonly spent $30,000 to $60,000 in recent races. David Gantt, current chairman, spent $51,650 to defend his seat from Glenda Weinert, who spent $14,093, in 2012.

Miranda DeBruhl spent $56,794 while competing for the District 3 (west Buncombe) seat in 2014 against Nancy Waldrop, who spent $42,327. Ellen Frost spent $62,257 to opponent Christina Merrill's $30,633 during the same year.

In the aforementioned scenarios, candidates who spent the most won, but that's not always the case, Cooper said.

“It’s not like the candidate who raises more money always wins," he said. "It’s sometimes kind of the opposite because the people who need to spend the most money are the ones that are down. Money is important. Money is influential. Money does not equal victory.”

High spending like Archerd's is unlikely to backfire, inadvertently turning off thrifty voters, but it could impact overall views on politics, Cooper said.

"It could accelerate the trend towards distrust of government and government officials," he said. "People don’t like the idea of money in politics. It might not hurt Archerd — I don’t think it will — but it may affect the way people look at local government.”

Cheat sheet: Who's running for Buncombe commissioners?

Campaign finance reports summarized

Candidates report itemized revenue and spending to the Buncombe County Board of Elections. The numbers below represent election cycle totals through Oct. 22. To see donors and expenditures for each candidate, click here.

Chuck Archerd (click here for the full report)

Raised: $38,757

Borrowed: $230,000 from himself

Spent: $255,360.05

Jasmine Beach-Ferrara (running unopposed in the general election, click here for the full report)

Raised: $49,640.33

Borrowed: $0

Spent: $48,032.85

Joe Belcher (click here for the full report)

Raised: $15,493.25

Borrowed: $0

Spent: $17,907.06

Mike Fryar (click here for the full report)

Raised: $42,204.30

Borrowed: $0

Spent: $33,647.97

Ed Hay (click here for the full report)

Raised: $21,376.06

Borrowed: $1,350

Spent: $17,184.38

David King (click here for the full report)

Raised: $28,018.77

Borrowed: $1,063.74

Spent: $17,501.52

Nancy Nehls Nelson (click here for the full report)

Raised: $35,018.20

Borrowed: $0

Spent: $31,880.68

Brownie Newman (click here for the full report)

Raised: $34,410

Borrowed: $42,000 from himself

Spent: $59,101.69

Robert Pressley (click here for the full report)

Raised: $13,856.11

Borrowed: $1,265

Spent: $6,128.83