Duane Hall's fundraising fell, but a few big donors stuck with him after allegations

Embattled state Rep. Duane Hall's fundraising dropped off after he began facing sexual harassment allegations, and he repaid himself the $100,000 he loaned his campaign in December, according to campaign finance reports posted this week.

Hall has denied the allegations but admitted to an inappropriate kiss, and leading Democrats have called for his resignation.

According to the finance report, Hall raised $23,205 in the first quarter of 2018, ending the reporting period with $37,424 on hand.

Most of the money was donated prior to the first NC Policy Watch story in late February about the allegations. Only a few major donors have contributed since then: He got $5,200 from Julia Daniels, wife of former News & Observer publisher Frank Daniels, $1,000 from Linda Edmisten, wife of former Secretary of State Rufus Edmisten, and $1,000 from Smithfield attorney Allen Wellons.

In March, the state House Democratic Caucus refunded $10,000 it had received from Hall's campaign. "Based upon my call for him to resign, I thought it appropriate to refund his caucus membership dues for this two year cycle," House Democratic Leader Darren Jackson explained in an email Tuesday.

Hall has kept a low profile since the allegations were published, skipping many candidate forums and avoiding inquiries from the news media. But his campaign for the May primary has remained active, records show, with $63,195 spent on direct mail, $7,500 on opinion polling and $1,835 on organizing voter canvasses.

Several voters in House District 11 have spotted Hall knocking on doors and talking to voters in their neighborhoods. In all, Hall has spent $79,264.94 in 2018 so far. He faces Allison Dahle in the Democratic primary.

This story was originally published April 25, 2018 at 12:09 PM with the headline "Duane Hall's fundraising fell, but a few big donors stuck with him after allegations."