These are the results in the top five most expensive North Carolina State Senate elections


General elections for all 50 districts in the North Carolina State Senate took place on Nov. 8, 2022. Of the 50 districts up for election in 2022, 37 had a general election with more than one candidate.

Across all contested general elections, candidates raised $16.3 million. Incumbents raised an average of $367,886 per candidate and challengers raised an average of $105,051 per candidate.

Five general elections with the most fundraising

The table below details the five general elections with the most fundraising in the State Senate. Winning candidates’ names are in bold.

District Money Raised Officeholder Candidates
District 18 $2,437,500 Sarah Crawford (D) Mary Wills Bode, E.C. Sykes, and Ryan Brown
District 17 $1,873,286 Sydney Batch (D) Sydney Batch, Mark Cavaliero, and Patrick Bowersox
District 7 $1,748,349 Jim Perry (R) Michael Lee, Marcia Morgan, and Jason Minnicozzi
District 26 $1,426,890 Dave Craven (R) Phil Berger and Alvin Robinson
District 21 $1,343,279 Ben Clark (D) Tom McInnis and Frank McNeill

The officeholders above are listed for the current districts they hold. However, this is a redistricting year, so candidates have been identified below as incumbents even if they are running in a different district than they currently hold.

#1 District 18 – $2,437,500

Mary Wills Bode raised $2,226,178, E.C. Sykes raised $211,032, and Ryan Brown raised $290.

Mary Wills Bode won with 51 percent of the vote, E.C. Sykes received 46 percent of the vote, and Ryan Brown received 3 percent of the vote.

#2 District 17 – $1,873,286

Incumbent Sydney Batch raised $1,816,525, Mark Cavaliero raised $56,246, and Patrick Bowersox raised $515.

Sydney Batch won with 52 percent of the vote, Mark Cavaliero received 46 percent of the vote, and Patrick Bowersox received 2 percent of the vote.

#3 District 7 – $1,748,349

Incumbent Michael Lee raised $1,592,554, Jason Minnicozzi raised $110,656, and Marcia Morgan raised $45,139.

Michael Lee won with 51 percent of the vote, Marcia Morgan received 49 percent of the vote, and Jason Minnicozzi withdrew.

#4 District 26 – $1,426,890

Incumbent Phil Berger raised $1,426,890 and Alvin Robinson raised $0.

Phil Berger won with 100 percent of the vote and Alvin Robinson received 0 percent of the vote.

#5 District 21 – $1,343,279

Incumbent Tom McInnis raised $1,155,432 and Frank McNeill raised $187,847.

Tom McInnis won with 55 percent of the vote and Frank McNeill received 45 percent of the vote.

The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active North Carolina PACs submitted to the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE). Political expenditures that are not controlled by candidates or their campaigns, known as satellite spending, are not included in candidate totals. Federal PACs are not required to report to state agencies. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines.

This article is a joint publication from Ballotpedia and Transparency USA, who are working together to provide campaign finance information for state-level elections. Learn more about our work here.