The latest round of campaign finance disclosures show Democrats have a fundraising edge leading into the fall campaign.
Democrats are outraising Republicans in most of the key toss up races; four in the House and two in the Senate. These are the elections that could determine control of the General Assembly, says Mark Rozell, dean of the Schar School at George Mason University.
"So, the fact that Democrats are outraising the Republicans; good news for the Democrats," Rozell says. "It doesn't necessarily portend a particular outcome. But, I think there is a certain amount of energy out there on the Democratic side given the intensity of the abortion issue."
He says we’re likely to see even bigger fundraising this fall as Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin starts spreading around money in close elections. Alex Keena at Virginia Commonwealth University says this is a lot of money being spent for an election cycle that doesn’t even have any statewide races on the ballot.
"You see this heightened profile of some of these races, and each of these races is taking on more and more importance," Keena says. "And it's just wild to see how much money is being spent in these elections."
Early voting for all 140 seats in the General Assembly starts Friday.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
