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2014 Election Spending Down Significantly from 2012

CNN

Despite the influx of ads, Virginia’s Senate race hasn’t attracted the outside spending it did in 2012.

In the 2012 Virginia Senate race more than fifty million dollars was spent by outside groups. This year, the race is attracting mere pennies compared to the last record setting cycle. According to the Virginia Public Access Project less than three million dollars has been dropped on the contest between Democratic incumbent Mark Warner and his Republican challenger Ed Gillespie – a former advisor of George W. Bush. Geoffrey Skelley of UVA’s Center for Politics says the commonwealth’s Senate race just isn’t as interesting to big donors this time around. 

“Whereas the Kaine-Allen race in 2012 had rated first in outside expenditures, the Warner and Gillespie race was ranked 18th which was kind of an indication.”

A part of the reason is Warner – a former businessman and governor – amassed more than sixteen million dollars into his campaign war chest. He apologizes for all the ads, but says don’t let that keep you from the polls Tuesday – where he’s hoping more moderates like him will get reelected.

“I know that there are many who are frustrated, but if you are frustrated and say "I am just going to turn off the TV and tune this out," all you do is turn the keys over to the extremes on either end of the political spectrum. And that's not where I think our country needs to head.”

Ed Gillespie – who used to be a lobbyist and run the Republican National Committee – has raised just under seven million dollars. He’s used a lot of that money to try and portray Warner as a rubber stamp for President Obama.

“Senator Warner has not been the senator he said he would be. He told us that he would be an independent voice for Virginia in the United States Senate but he’s voted with President Obama ninety-even percent of the time since taking office. And he said he would a fiscal moderate. He’s voted for seven trillion dollars in new debt and nearly a trillion dollars in tax increases.”

Skelley says Gillespie is doing well for a first time candidate. But why isn’t Gillespie attracting more outside money?

“I think to some degree it's a chicken or egg question.”

Skelley says Warner was able to scare off outside spending by amassing such a large sum from groups like J-P Morgan Chase, Dominion and Altria Group.

“Outside groups were scared to some degree by Warner’s formidable profile and campaign war chest because he had a lot of money at his fingertips.”

As for Gillespie? His biggest donors are Blue Cross/Blue Shield, B-G-R Group and Blackstone. Without outside spending, Skelley says Gillespie was left alone in the contest. Virginia’s tenth congressional district is a different story altogether. The race for the open seat between Democrat John Foust and Republican Barbara Comstock attracted nearly five million dollars from outside groups who have been peppering northern Virginia with negative ads.

But other races in the state haven’t attracted outside dollars. Take the second district where incumbent Republican Scott Rigell is facing off against veteran Democratic challenger Suzanne Patrick. The race has attracted less than half a million dollars in outside spending. Skelley says that’s because Patrick never caught fire.  

“You know, candidates matter. The fundamentals matter a lot.”

The one thing that is clear: after Tuesday’s election, you won’t have to watch campaign ads, but you may want to buckle up for the 20-16 presidential contest. It’s expected to draw a lot of outside money once again.  

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