Republican fundraising in mayor, Charlotte City Council elections beat Democrats

Republican candidates raised more money than Democrats in multiple Charlotte City Council races, according to the last campaign finance reports before Election Day.

The most recent reporting period ran from Aug. 27 to Oct. 20. Candidates are required to submit reports about how much money they’ve raised and spent as well as who is giving money to their campaigns. However, the amount of money isn’t necessarily indicative of who will win the election.

Krista Bokhari more than doubled the contributions of Democrat Kimberly Owens in south Charlotte’s District 6 race.

Long shot mayoral candidate Terrie Donovan outraised Democratic incumbent Vi Lyles by a wide margin, too. Donovan’s biggest influx of cash came amid national scrutiny of Lyles’ response to the fatal light rail stabbing.

And leading the pack across all races is at-large Republican candidate Edwin Peacock III, whose campaign generated more than $110,000. Peacock previously told The Charlotte Observer his fundraising efforts during the 2025 campaign brought in more money in a shorter period of time than any of his previous campaigns.

Here’s a look at notable results from campaign finance reports.

Bokhari has wide financial edge in tight District 6 race

District 6 is expected to be the closest city council race. The district is shaped like a triangle in south Charlotte and includes neighborhoods such as Eastover, Myers Park, South Park, Providence and Carmel. Only about 300 votes separated the two major party candidates in 2023.

From a financial standpoint, though, Bokhari is miles ahead.

The Republican’s campaign generated $96,468.52 during the reporting period and spent $64,818.36, leaving her with $86,160.39 in the final two weeks before the election. Owens raised $40,037.16 during that same period, spent $39,112.26 and has $15,767.50 remaining cash on hand. However, Owens still raised the third-highest amount across all city races.

Bokhari likely benefited from name recognition and pre-existing family connections. Former Councilman Tariq Bokhari held the seat she’s now running for before stepping down to take a position in the Trump administration in May. Krista Bokhari also ran for state legislature last year.

One-third of her contributions came from the North Carolina Republican Party in the form of printing and postage for mailing campaign ads. The state-level party did not contribute to any other city candidate this cycle.

Her largest individual donation came from prolific local developer David Longo, who contributed more than $7,000. Other notable donations include about $50 from mayoral candidate Donovan, more than $2,000 from the founder of a luxury and custom awards company, $5,000 from the owner of a luxury car dealership, $3,500 from attorney and political consultant Larry Shaheen and $500 from former GOP state Rep. Scott Stone.

A full breakdown of Owens’ contributions were not immediately available on the Mecklenburg County or State Board of Elections websites as of Friday evening. While the deadline for reports was early last week, reports sometimes aren’t received by the Board of Elections or uploaded online before Election Day.

Republican leads in fundraising for citywide race

No candidate came close to bringing in as much campaign funds as Peacock in the at-large council race.

He raised $113,217.94, spent $26,353.02 and has $117,816.52 on hand. His contributions during the most recent reporting period are more than all four Democratic incumbents combined.

About a quarter of his donations, or more than $29,000, came from individuals whose listed jobs are in real estate, development and construction sectors. Longo contributed over $6,500 to his campaign.

Other notable donations include $1,000 from District 7 Councilman Ed Driggs, who is the only other Republican currently serving on council; $5,000 from Frank Harrison, the CEO of Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated; $239.70 from developer and community figure Bobby Drakeford; and $150 from former Councilwoman Velva Woollen.

Dimple Ajmera raised the next-highest amount of $21,875, spent $9,181.99 and has $179,713.62 cash on hand, which she’s accumulated over a decade of campaigning.

Notable donations include $1,000 from 32BJ SEIU, the union representing contracted airline workers; $300 from the Democratic Women of Mecklenburg County; and $1,000 from Lee Ratliff, the CEO of Professional Security Services, which provides security on Charlotte public transit.

James “Smuggie” Mitchell raised $19,197.09, spent $18,184.75 and has $9,355.28 cash on hand. Just under half of his financing, or about $9,000, came from individuals who self-identified as working in real estate, development and construction. LaToya Evans, the mayor’s personal publicist, contributed $200 to his campaign. Ratliff, the PSS CEO, also contributed $1,000 to his campaign.

LaWana Slack-Mayfield raised $17,220, spent $19,763.01 and has $16,947.67 remaining. Former Mayor and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx contributed $200, Drakeford contributed $375, 32BJ SEIU contributed $1,000 and Ratliff contributed $1,000.

Victoria Watlington raised the least money out of the incumbents at $14,470 this period. She spent $3,456.19 and has $42,440.62 remaining. A copy of her full report was not available on the State Board of Elections website as of Friday evening.

Lyles trails in funding for mayoral race

Donovan’s campaign seemingly got a big financial boost after the tragic death of Iryna Zarutska on the Blue Line hit national headlines in early September.

Donovan works in real estate and has never run for office before. She raised less than $2,000 the entire period before Sept. 8 — roughly when Charlotte’s public safety became a national talking point. Half of that amount was money she’d given to her own campaign.

Lyles had raised over $17,000 in that same period.

But Donovan ended the most recent reporting period having raised $39,856.82. She spent $23,350.10 and has $18,585.22 left on hand.

Much of her contributions remained local despite attention pouring in from across the country. Only about $4,200 came from outside the Charlotte area. And more than $5,200 was money she spent on herself. Together, those two figures account for about a quarter of her overall financing.

Lyles meanwhile raised $21,083.50, spent $12,381.58 and has $108,414.20 remaining.

This story was originally published November 2, 2025 at 5:00 AM.