$2.5 million of outside money floods state-level races in NC primary election

UPDATE: As of May 13, 2014, Follow NC Money's revised total for outside money spent on state-level races is $2,462,575.

Millions of dollars have rolled into North Carolina supporting and opposing candidates in the US House and Senate. But Follow NC Money has found that $2,470,050 of outside money - not coordinated with a candidate or party - went to state-level races. A large portion of that, $1,146,691, went to the race for Robin Hudson's Supreme Court seat - 46 percent of the total. 

The biggest spender was Justice for All NC, which spent $774,025 on a television ad attacking Hudson. 

The Natural Resources Defense Council spent $685,294 in TV ads that criticized Sen. Ronald Rabin's (R-12) votes to fast-track hydraulic fracturing and Sen. Bill Cook's (R-18) support for "mega-dumps."

The third highest spender was NC Chamber IE, which dedicated $400,486 towards NC candidates; the majority of its expenditures, $345,000, was spent in support of Supreme Court candidates Eric Levinson and Jeanette Doran. 

Other top groups that put money into the primary included the Southern Environmental Law Center ($229,870), the NC Homeowners Alliance ($148,829), and the Employees PAC ($126,001).