From Staff Reports 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Democratic challenger Jamie Ager holds a dominant nearly 9-to-1 fundraising advantage over two-term Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District. 

Second-quarter campaign finance reports — released in mid-July — show Ager raised $1.4 million compared to Edwards’s $155,000, bringing Ager’s cash on hand to $2.2 million. 

Following is the second-quarter financial breakdown:

• Ager raised $1.4 million in Q2, with $2.2 million in cash on hand.

• Edwards brought in $155,000 in Q2, reporting $486,000 in cash on hand.

• Ager has now outraised Edwards for four straight quarters.

• Ager logged 3,818 individual donations while rejecting corporate PAC money, whereas Edwards received 167 total donations from individuals and PACs. 

Following are the campaign context and reactions:

• “The congressman has a base level of identity in the district that reflects his work and service,” Paul Shumaker noted in the Carolina Journal, adding, “Our opponent does not.”

• Ager’s campaign has been bolstered by national support, including inclusion in the DCCC’s “Red to Blue” program.

• Political forecasters have adjusted the lean of the district, shifting ratings from “safe Republican” metrics down to “lean Republican.”