Rowan County’s three Republican commissioner candidates in the 2014 general election won at least three different races.

Commissioners Jim Greene, Greg Edds and Judy Klusman not only won the 2014 election, but were the top spenders in the fourth quarter of 2014 and three of the top four in the entire election, according to the final campaign reports which were due this week.

Edds, the current commission chairman, outspent any of his competitors by several thousand in the fourth quarter. Edds’ total expenses in the fourth quarter were $12,122. The next closest spender was Klusman at $7,958.11 and Greene, the current commission vice-chairman, came in third at $2,486.02.

The fourth quarter for campaign finances began on Oct. 27 and ended Dec. 31.

The overall campaign expenses were slightly different, but Republicans still remained at the top of campaign expenditures in the commissioners race. The top four in overall expenses for the entire campaign were, in order,  Klusman — $33,633.45 — Edds — $21,590.90 — Coltrain — 17,501.43 — and Greene — $13,629.40.

For the top four spenders, loans all make up a significant portion of overall income. Klusman’s loans to herself are, by far the largest, at $21,700. Of the top four, Edds loan the second most to his campaign at $9,219. Coltrain’s campaign finance reports don’t show any personal loans. Greene loaned himself $6,326.77.

Political action committee spending remains higher than most candidates

Combined, Rowan County’s two largest political action committee’s in 2014 spent twice as much as even some of the bigger spenders.

By a few thousand, the biggest spender of any single political action committee was Rowan Alliance, which is run by local businessman Jake Alexander. Most of its money came from one group — non-profit Southern Initiatives —which Alexander is also involved in.

In total, Southern Initiatives gave Rowan Alliance $25,500. Only $500 was listed on campaign finance reports as a contribution from an individual.

Rowan Alliance didn’t spend all of its money. Fourth quarter finance reports list $1,040.26 in cash on hand.

The political action committee is currently in limbo, according to Rowan County elections specialist Laura Russell. Earlier in election season, questions came up about Rowan Alliance’s status and whether it was classified correctly. Russell said the State Board of Elections has yet to make a determination on the status of Rowan Alliance.

The only other significant political action committee in 2014 was La Resistance. Though a large portion of its revenue came from its founder Todd Paris, dozens of other contributions came in. The largest number of contributions were in small amounts, such as $50.

La Resistance has multiple different incarnations during the 2014 campaign. At one point the group was a political action committee then closed the group and opened an independent expenditure committee, also known as a Super PAC.

As a Super Pac, the group was allowed to received unlimited contributions from a single donor during an election cycle.

Both La Resistance groups combined raised close to $19,000 over the entire election cycle. In both cases, a majority of money raised were contributions from individuals.

Democratic candidates for commissioner the lowest spenders in 2014 race

While Republican candidates comprised the top spenders in the 2014 general election, Democratic candidates for commissioner had the lowest expenditures in the race.

At $4,566  and $2,275, respectively, Democratic candidates Rick Locklear and Leda Belk were the lowest spenders in the 2014 race. Both had a few hundred dollars on hand at the end of the race. Locklear’s campaign finance reports show $741.21 in cash on hand at the end of the fourth quarter. Belk’s reports show $259.39 in cash on hand at the end of the fourth quarter.

Of the two Democrats, only Locklear’s reports show loans to himself. Over the entire election cycle, Locklear loaned himself $2,476.

Commissioner candidates Chris Cohen and Gene Miller came in fifth and sixth, respectively, in total campaign expenditures.

Cohen spent $12,650, with $10,000 being loan proceeds. Miller spent a total of $7,684.02, with $1,750 of his revenue coming from loans to himself.

Contact reporter Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246