Young NC Senator is a big Fundraiser. How a Lobbyist and his Wife tie Into That Success.
In 2024, Sen. Dan Craven pulled off a rare fundraising triumph for a lawmaker who had only served one full term - he attracted more than $1.3 million in contributions to his campaign. A fifth of those donations were from a single lobbyist source, Kevin Wilkinson.
Simultaneously, Craven's campaign finance reports show he paid a business owned by Wilkinson’s wife Megan Wilkinson nearly $59,000 in fees for campaign consulting–a role she had not previously held with any other clients.
“Public service operates on trust, and when you have financial, professional and social relationships overlapping, leaders have the responsibility to tell, to demonstrate independence clearly. It shouldn’t be assumed,” said Davina Hurt, director of government ethics. “Here, there’s no transparency about what these relationships are, or are not.”
Davina Hurt, director, government ethics, quoted by The Charlotte Observer.