Election Day is fast approaching, and that means the campaign cash is flying around Virginia politics.
Until recently, the congressional race that’s attracted the most amount of campaign cash has been in Northern Virginia, where incumbent Republican Barbara Comstock is defending her seat against Democrat Jennifer Wexton. But the latest round of financial disclosures show that race is no longer the most expensive in Virginia.
Bob Denton at Virginia Tech says many donors are already assuming Wexton has it in the bag.
“So there’s a little bit of wiggle room for reallocation of assets, and clearly the next most competitive one — and certainly right now it’s gone from leans Republican to toss up — is the Seventh Congressional District.”
That’s where Democrat Abigail Spanberger raised more money than any other candidate in the third quarter, raising more than three times as much money as Republican incumbent Dave Brat.
But that’s not the only trend emerging from the disclosure documents. Stephen Farnsworth at the University of Mary Washington says there’s a gender gap.
“The top five recipients are all women, and four of the five — excluding Barbara Comstock — are Democrats.”
Democrats have a two-to-one fundraising advantage in three congressional districts, and a three-to-one advantage in two districts.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
