A contest to replace the high-profile conservative Congressman Mark Meadows has drawn nearly $1 million dollars in corporate and other outside political money to Western North Carolina.

The flood of campaign cash, including $554,000 spent to support Haywood County real estate broker Lynda Bennett, is bringing even more attention to the already heated March 3 Republican primary free-for-all. It also comes as Bennett, who claimed a coveted endorsement from prominent Donald Trump ally Meadows, faces increasing attacks from primary opponents.

The 11th District was redrawn last year after allegations of GOP gerrymandering and now covers 16 and a half counties including the entirety of the once-split city of Asheville, a change that pushed the formerly safe conservative seat into the "possible" category for Democrats.

New district map, Meadows quits, money flows

With links to a potential White House job, Meadows quit the race just 30 hours before the filing deadline. GOP candidates rushed in, with 11 now seeking the spot.

Super PACs — special political action committees that can collect and spend unlimited money from individuals and corporations — had plunked down $152,000 to back Meadows when the district was noncompetitive. That money came from two groups connected to the Freedom Caucus, formerly led by Meadows.

After the reconfiguration of the mountains' political landscape, the money poured in. As of Feb. 21, five Super PACs had spent $992,000 on advertising to back three candidates — Bennett, Winston-Salem business investor Dan Driscoll and N.C. Sen. Jim Davis, according to federal campaign reports. While Super PACs can collect and spend unlimited money to influence elections, they cannot, by law, coordinate with candidates. The Democratic race featuring five candidates has seen no Super PAC money.

Super PAC money spent in 11th District GOP race

Dan Driscoll, Winston-Salem: With Honor: $360,822

Lynda Bennett, Maggie Valley: House Freedom Action: $355,732; House Freedom Fund: $2,618; Senate Conservatives Action: $195,243.

N.C. Sen. Jim Davis, Franklin: American Dental Association Independent Expenditures Committee: $58,976.

The money spent on behalf of Bennett comes as she faces increasing attacks from opponents in the final 11 days of the campaign.

Some conservative blogs have dug into her past while two fellow GOP 11th District candidates accuse her of federal campaign finance law violations.

Bennett and her campaign manager did not respond immediately to a Feb. 21 request for comment about the Super PAC money. A Meadows spokesman also did not respond.

But the expenditures, most of which come from Super PACs linked to the Freedom Caucus, are a show of support from the congressman who in his endorsement said Bennett was a "good friend friend" who would "work with President Trump to drain the swamp."

The Super PAC money combined with $78,000 spent by Bennett's own campaign, bring expenditures in her favor to $631,000, far above any of the other 11 candidates.

Driscoll, an Iraq combat veteran, got the second-most Super PAC support with $361,000 from the "cross-partisan" veterans group With Honor. Combined with $137,000 from his own campaign, that put spending for Driscoll at $498,000.

The third-highest amount spent was for Asheville real estate investor Chuck Archerd, who got no Super PAC support but loaned his campaign $355,000 and used $334,000 for advertising and other costs.

With Honor did not respond to a message seeking comment.

The group says it promotes veterans from both parties in an effort to reduce polarization. On its advisory board are prominent Republicans and Democrats such as Bill Clinton White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles, Ronald Reagan advisor David Gergen as well as Medal of Honor recipient retired Army Capt. Florent Grobert.

The Super PAC got national attention in 2018 with a $10 million donation from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

Campaign spokesman Joe Knepper said Driscoll didn't reach out to With Honor but said the support was a recognition of his character and service as a former Army scout platoon leader.

"With Honor exists to promote principled veteran leadership in our country and it speaks to Dan’s character and values that such a group would choose to be involved in this race on his behalf," Knepper said

Like more than half of the GOP primary contenders, Driscoll lives outside the district, something allowed by the Constitution. Driscoll has said he is moving into the district to Black Mountain.

Fellow candidate Dillon S. Gentry of Avery County said it would be better if candidates won on the merits of their arguments "not who can scream the loudest."

Gentry, a human resources technology consultant who doesn't have Super PAC funding or personal wealth to loan his campaign, said he would "prefer a more equal playing field," and finds the amount spent on campaigns "gross."

"That being said I don't fault anyone for accepting financial support. That's the reality of our political ecosystem," he said.

A dentist Super PAC made $59,000 in independent expenditures to support Davis, an orthodontist who served 10 years in the General Assembly. Records on the Federal Elections Commission site show Davis used only $1,7000 of his own campaign funds, though the filings are not as recent as those for other candidates and don't include payment for a gun-toting hamburger-eating video posted Jan. 30 on Facebook.

Allegations

Spending by one group in support of Bennett brought allegations of campaign finance violations.

The accusations surround a leaflet handed out by her volunteers at early voting sites called "The Conservative Ballot" voting guide with suggestions for choices for state and federal offices, including Bennett.

Volunteers had a letter with the name and number of Bennett campaign manager Jane Bilello saying the guide had been "thoroughly vetted."

But the leaflet did not give the proper disclaimer required by federal law saying it was authorized by Bennett. The group behind the leaflet, The Official Conservative Ballot Committee of NC, may also have broken the campaign finance law by not notifying the Federal Elections Commission of its expenditure, said two of Bennett's 11th District GOP opponents Madison Cawthorn and Joey Osborne.

The group is registered as a regular PAC with the state but is not registered with the Federal Elections Commission, which it is required to do if it spends $1,000 or more.

Cawthorn, a 24-year-old Henderson County real estate company owner who survived a crippling car accident, likened the issue to Trump's "partisan impeachment."

"That disgraceful process was about not trusting We the People to make the right choice," he said.

Osborne, a Catawba County CEO of an insect repellent company, said voters need their representatives to be "straightforward and honest."

"The flyer being handed out by Lynda is neither. ... She needs to stop," Osborne said.

Messages to the treasurer of the Official Conservative Ballot Committee of NC, Isiah Gordon, were not returned. The group is based in Burke County, according to its state paperwork.

Bennett responded Feb. 19, disavowing the guide, saying it hadn't been "endorsed by or authorized by the campaign" and that she didn't know it existed until it was posted on social media.

"We will ask our volunteers in the future to use only those materials authorized by the campaign," she said.

But her campaign manager seemed to indicate otherwise. Bilello declined to comment, referring the Citizen Times to her Feb. 19 Facebook post that said the letter "was meant to be a private communication between a few fellow grassroots activists supporting the many candidates in the 11th," adding, "Sorry if it offended anyone."

The GOP candidates

Lynda Bennett, Maggie Valley

Matthew Burril (dropped out Jan. 20, though name remains on ballot.)

Jim Davis, Franklin

Chuck Archerd, Asheville

Dan Driscoll, Winston Salem

Joey Osborne, Hickory

Steven Fekete Jr., Lenoir

Dillon S. Gentry, Banner Elk

Wayne King, Kings Mountain

Madison Cawthorn, Rugby

Vance Patterson, Morganton

Albert Wiley Jr., Atlantic Beach

The new 11th District covers the following counties: Cherokee, Graham, Clay, Swain, Macon, Jackson, Haywood, Transylvania, Madison, Buncombe, Henderson, Yancey, Mitchell, Avery, McDowell, Polk and half of Rutherford.