Cooper maintains fundraising lead over McCrory

Cooper and McCrory ​both have primaries on March 15 but are the prohibitive favorites for their respective parties' nominations for governor.

For the two six-month reporting periods in 2015, Cooper out-raised McCrory, and he started 2016 with more cash on hand. The Democrat continued his lead in the first two months of this year, bringing in what he said was $1.1 million, compared with McCrory's $751,610.84

Cooper, whose report is not yet officially on file with the State Board of Elections, says that his campaign had more than 6,200 contributions over the past two months.

McCrory, whose report became available Tuesday afternoon, reported raising $687,273.44 from individuals, with another $58,900 coming from political action committees.

"The campaign is overwhelmed by the outpouring support for the governor's agenda and will report strong fundraising numbers," McCrory campaign spokesman Ricky Diaz said Monday.

Cooper says he had about $5.7 million cash on hand as the primary campaign entered its final two weeks. McCrory had about $4.3 million in the bank at the same point in time.

"Gov. McCrory is the most vulnerable incumbent in the country, and it’s clear that voters are ready for a state that works for everyone, not just the select few," Cooper campaign spokesman Jamal Little said.

Neither Cooper nor McCrory appear to be spending heavily in advance of the primary. Both candidates will likely benefit from an array of outside spending during the campaign, including from national political organizations and nonprofit 501(c)(4) groups.