In a contentious North Carolina House race, it was $59,000 against an incumbent’s $3 million warchest—and the challenger won

In the 2024 North Carolina House race, Democratic challenger LaKesha Womack defeated incumbent Republican Tim Moore by a narrow margin of about 6,400 votes. Despite Moore's significant fundraising advantage with a $3 million war chest compared to Womack's $59,000, Womack's campaign strategy ultimately proved effective. Running as a Democratic political newcomer, Womack made a point to attend between five and seven events per week in the district she sought to represent, even though her limited funds required her to use them wisely, as she explained in an interview with Spectrum News.

Moore, who held the position of former state House speaker and the longest-ever term as speaker of the state House, had also played a role in helping draw the district in 2023, winning it by 16 percentage points in the following year. Womack's victory, however, proved that the money alone couldn't secure a win in this blue wave midterm.

Democrats' strong performance in North Carolina, coupled with their success in other races such as the U.S. Senate race where former Gov. Roy Cooper defeated former Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley, marked a major shift in the state's political landscape. This triumph also contributed to Democrats securing a majority in the Senate and flipping at least five, and potentially six, Republican-held seats in the House, potentially reversing the state's 10-to-four Republican majority in Congress.