Campaign cash floods Virginia races ahead of primary
By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – With early voting ending Friday, Virginia’s top statewide candidates are closing out the primary season with millions in contributions and expenses.
In the race for governor, Democrat Abigail Spanberger reported raising $6.5 million and spending $3.2 million between April 1 and June 5. She ended the period with more than $14.3 million in cash on hand. Major contributions included $500,000 from DGA Action, $200,000 from Clean Virginia Fund, and $150,000 from the UNITE HERE TIP State and Local Fund.
Republican Winsome Earle-Sears raised $3.5 million and reported $4.6 million in expenditures during the same time frame. Her largest donations came from Elite Contracting Group ($100,000) and Building a Remarkable Virginia PAC, which contributed a combined $105,000 in early June. She reported nearly $3 million in cash on hand.
Policy messaging has also ramped up. Spanberger traveled to Norfolk to promote her energy affordability plan, pointing to weatherization programs and grid modernization efforts as ways to lower utility bills.
Earle-Sears has centered her latest campaign push on eliminating Virginia’s annual car tax. In a video posted this week, she said, “If you elect me for governor, we’re going to tear up that car tax.”
In the lieutenant governor’s race, Democrats Levar Stoney, Aaron Rouse and Ghazala Hashmi lead in fundraising and cash on hand. Stoney reported raising over $2.1 million overall, followed by Rouse with about $1.8 million and Hashmi with more than $1.6 million. Republican nominee John Reid, who is unopposed in the primary, reported raising about $134,000 in the latest filing period and ended the period with roughly $116,373 in cash on hand.
For attorney general, incumbent Jason Miyares reported raising over $4.2 million overall and ended the period with over $2 million in the bank. Democratic challenger Jay Jones reported that $2.7 million had been raised. His primary opponent, Shannon Taylor, reported $2.1 million in total contributions.
Taylor’s campaign has come under scrutiny in recent days after receiving more than $650,000 from Dominion Energy, prompting criticism from environmental groups and some lawmakers who argue she should recuse herself from cases involving the utility if elected.
Under Virginia law, statewide candidates must report any contribution of $5,000 or more within 24 hours through June 16. Pre-primary reports cover activity from April 1 through June 5.
The information is based on updated campaign finance reports filed with the Virginia Department of Elections and published by the Virginia Public Access Project.
Primary election day is Tuesday, June 17.