The primary election that happened earlier this summer was historic in many ways. One of those ways is that it broke campaign finance records.
The Democratic primary between Senator Louise Lucas and Senator Lionell Spruill was the most expensive Senate primary in Virginia history. That's according to an analysis by the Virginia Public Access Project, which also shows six other primary fights this year topped the previous record. That's largely because of TV ads like this one from Spruill.
"Thanks to Senator Lionell Spruill, more kids like me can get hearing aids like this. Senator Spruill changed my world."
"To a lot of politicians, kids like Clay sound like this. But I hear them loud and clear," Spruill said.
Campaign finance documents show Lucas matched the ad spending with buys for commercials like this one, portraying her in a boxing ring.
"Louise is protecting Obamacare, standing for a woman's right to choose and passing gun safety laws. It's a simple choice.”
“I'm Louise Lucas, candidate for Senate and I sponsor this message."
Between the two of them, they raised and spent more than $3 million. But that figure is about to be blown out of the water by a Senate race in Loudoun County, which is expected to double that amount this fall.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
