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Glenn Youngkin Has Loaned $12 Million to His Campaign, More Could Be on the Horizon

AP Photo / Steve Helber

Candidates are often forced to work the phones raising money. But, one wealthy candidate doesn't have to worry about that.

Campaign finance records show Republican candidate for governor Glenn Youngkin has loaned his campaign $12 million. And that might just be the beginning of the money he's able to invest in his campaign.

Former Republican Delegate David Ramadan, now at George Mason University's Schar School, says he expects Youngkin to continue writing checks to his campaign.

"In the run up to his candidacy, Mr. Youngkin was holding meetings with multiple people around the Commonwealth and saying that he is willing to spend $35 million out of his own money," Ramadan says. "There's no other way to say it: when you spend $35 million out of your own money, you're buying an election."

Buying television time is not cheap. And Democratic strategist Ben Tribbett says Youngkin has been using all that campaign cash to finance television commercials in northern Virginia.

"That's the most expensive thing in Virginia politics is the DC media market," Tribbett explains. "The other media markets in the state all combined don't add up to what it costs to be up in the DC market, and so I expect for him to stay up through Election Day and I don't think he will go down. That at a minimum will be another $40 million just to be up on the DC media market through Election Day."

Tribbett estimates that'll cost about half a million dollars or more every week from now until Election Day.

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.

Michael Pope is an author and journalist who lives in Old Town Alexandria.