SC candidate for governor is days late, dollars short in cash race
It's more than a day late and a dollar short for one candidate for S.C. governor.
Charleston businessman Phil Noble became the last candidate for governor to file his first-quarter fundraising totals with the state Ethics Commission on Thursday, more than a week after the filing deadline. The totals show Noble trailing his two opponents in the Democratic primary in the cash race.
Noble has raised $83,127.89 so far this year, less than his campaign's expenditures for the same period — $87,125.55.
Noble also took out a $6,500 loan, bringing his total loans to $21,500 for the election. He finished the period with $59,498 on hand to spend.
State Rep. James Smith of Columbia raised $403,079 during 2018's first quarter, leaving the Columbia Democrat with $622,415 on hand to spend at the end of March.
Florence attorney Marguerite Willis also outraised Noble, taking in $598,055 during the first quarter, much of it loans or contributions by the candidate. Willis gave her campaign about $178,000 of her own money and took out a $300,000 loan. Willis reported having $542,458 on hand for the June 12 Democratic primary.
Fundraising numbers for all candidates for statewide office this year were due April 10. Noble's campaign blamed technical problems with getting its numbers posted online. The campaign said earlier in the week it had emailed its report to the Ethics Commission.
"The commission attested that we did everything necessary and as per their instructions to fully comply with the Ethics Commission rules," the campaign said in a news release.
The Ethics Commission said its website was working properly.
Smith and Willis also filed their disclosures late, with their totals becoming available over the weekend.
Despite his fundraising shortfall, polls have shown Noble competitive with Smith and Willis with less than two months to go until the Democratic primary.
This story was originally published April 20, 2018 at 11:17 AM with the headline "SC candidate for governor is days late, dollars short in cash race."