Outside Spending On North Carolina Senate Race Soars

The U.S. Senate race in North Carolina is attracting huge amounts of money from outside the state.

Data from the Federal Election Commission shows that spending on North Carolina's Senate race has soared beyond $58 million.

The amount far eclipses the combined $23 million dollars raised by the two candidates, Republican Sen. Richard Burr and Democratic challenger Deborah Ross.

The Charlotte Observer reports that most of the independent money has come from wealthy individuals and corporations who are free to make unlimited donations to so-called “super” political action committees, so long as the amounts of their contributions and their identities are disclosed.

Analysts say the deluge of spending illustrates the impact of the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling, which lifted the lid on campaign spending from outside sources.