Report: Duke Energy pays for sway over NC General Assembly

Duke Energy is the leader in a pack of special interest groups who hold the most sway over the N.C. General Assembly, according to a new report from the Institute for Southern Studies in Durham.

The report, co-authored by research intern Brian Freskos and research associate Alex Kotch, ranks 101 special interest groups according to political spending and lobbying power.

“While these groups influence government in many ways, spending and lobbying are two of the most clear metrics,” said Kotch, who recently received his Ph.D. from Duke University.

To be included in the rankings, a group had to have hired one of the state’s top 60 lobbyists and spent money politically at the state level.

Freskos, a UNC senior, said while the report has some limitations, it provides a new glimpse of who really controls the assembly.

“Some companies pour huge sums of money into politics without lobbying, or vice versa, and they weren’t captured in our rankings,” said Freskos. “While this is certainly a first step for this kind of research, it’s a big one.”

The report discusses the extent to which money is a factor for the groups.

“As you’d probably expect, the game is definitely tilted in favor of the deep-pocketed groups,” said Kotch.

Linda Millsaps, executive director of the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research, said there was a possible shortfall in the report because organizations have changed the way they approach lobbying in the past 30 years.

“Organizations that used to have one full-time lobbyist now have large teams of lobbyists that represent multiple clients,” she said.

And lobbyists who represent many clients have to know the full agenda of all the organizations they represent, said Millsaps.

“When you have this network of lobbyists who work for competing organizations, it’s that much harder to reach consensus or make compromises about the important issues,” she said.

Neither Kotch nor Freskos were surprised when Duke Energy emerged as the most powerful special interest group.

“Duke Energy is clearly a very influential entity in North Carolina, but what surprised us was just how connected it is to the assembly and to the governor,” said Freskos.

Freskos was referring to Gov. Pat McCrory’s 28-year tenure at Duke Energy.

“The thing is, there isn’t a clear partisan distinction between the groups,” said Freskos. “These organizations don’t choose just one side, they throw money at both parties and sort of hedge their bets.”

Other surprises came from those groups that trailed Duke Energy and other powerhouses.

“The N.C. Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association (and) the Alliance for Access to Dental Care — these are the kinds of groups that people don’t associate with widespread influence, but here they are,” said Kotch.

state@dailytarheel.com

CORRECTION: Due to a reporting error, a previous version of this story incorrectly stated Alex Kotch’s title. He is a research associate for the Institute for Southern Studies. The story has been updated to reflect this change. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.