Pantano raises $200k for campaign

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) – A North Carolina Republican running for the U.S. House says he has raised almost $200,000 from grass roots supporters in his bid to unseat seven-term Democratic Rep. Mike McIntyre.

GOP nominee Ilario Pantano told The Associated Press on Thursday that his campaign raised more than $211,000 during the second quarter, much of it coming from individual supporters.

Pantano is taking on McIntyre in North Carolina’s 7th Congressional District. McIntyre beat his GOP opponent by a more than 2-to-1 margin in the 2008 election.

The former Marine officer who served in Iraq said the fundraising numbers show that his campaign has momentum and that citizens in the district are “voting early and they are doing it with their pocket books.”

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