Looking at the latest fundraising numbers from the third quarter (ending Sept. 30), it would appear that Democrats hold the advantage regarding cash-on-hand (COH) in Virginia’s most competitive races (2nd, 5th, 9th and 11th).
According to the Virginia Public Access Project, Republican Scott Rigell has about $90k less to spend than Democrat Glenn Nye in the 2nd, Tom Perriello (D) has three times more COH than Robert Hurt (R) in the 5th, Rick Boucher (D) has more than a million than Morgan Griffith, and Gerry Connolly (D) has about $400k more than Keith Fimian (R) in the 11th.
The good news for Republicans, if you think the money race is good news, is that both Rigell and Fimian out-raised Nye and Connolly, respectively.
“Our grassroots efforts are clearly paying off across the Second District,” said Rigell spokeswoman Crystal Cameron. “We had more than 800 individual donors in the third quarter, including 619 new donors.”
Even Republican Patrick Murray in the 8th is putting in a good showing by raising more than $300k and having more than $100k COH. Jim Moran (D) holds a 5:1 cash advantage.
Although Republicans trail in the money department, between now and Election Day, we’ll hear more than enough from everyone. Each campaign in the 2nd, 5th, 9th and 11th has several hundred thousand dollars to spend.
