Wake County school board candidate Cynthia Matson raised $13,807

The final campaign reports for last fall's elections are starting to come in and they show that Cynthia Matson was at a major funding disadvantage in her bid to win a seat on the Wake County school board.

In Matson's final report filed Tuesday, the Republican-backed candidate reported having raised and spent $13,807.10. Her Democratic opponent in District 5, Jim Martin, hasn't filed his final report yet. But Martin had reported raising $31,534.46 as of Sept. 26.

The biggest contributor in Matson's latest report is conservative businessman Art Pope, who gave $4.000. All five Republican school board candidates have reported receiving donations from Pope except for Venita Peyton, whose final report isn't in yet.

Some other donors in Matson's new report include former Wake County Commissioner Gary Pendleton and the campaign committee of Wake County Commissioner Paul Coble.

Pope and conservative businessman Bob Luddy were Matson's two main donors, both having given $4,000. They contributed 58 percent of her money.

Unlike the races in Districts 3, 6 and 8, those in Districts 4 and 5 seemed to get less attention and funding from outside groups. The Democratic-leaning district gave Martin 67.3 percent of the vote in October.