A texting scandal and an 11th-hour redistricting session have brought new money to Virginia’s heated final weeks of the statewide campaign, according to new finance disclosures.
Republican groups flooded incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares’s campaign with nearly $8.5 million in October, seeking to amplify concerns about Democrat Jay Jones’ leaked violent text messages about a political opponent.
The National Democratic Redistricting Committee sent $150,000 to Abigail Spanberger’s campaign, wooing her support for efforts to redraw congressional district lines next year.
Statewide races in Virginia so far have pulled in $150 million in campaign contributions, as Democrats look to take back the governor’s mansion in a heated off-year campaign, according to campaign finance records compiled by the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project.
Spanberger has outraised Republican Winsome Earle-Sears by nearly 2-1 in the race for governor. The Democrat has raised $65.6 million to Earle-Sears’ $35.5 million through Oct. 23, according to VPAP.
Both candidates garnered major support from their parties in September and October, with Spanberger collecting $5 million from DGA Action and Earle-Sears receiving $5 million from the RGA Right Direction PAC. Out-of-state billionaires have also spent heavily to influence how Virginia is governed.
Miyares has outraised Democratic challenger Jones by $25.3 million to $14.2 million, according to VPAP. In October alone, the RAGA Action Fund, a super PAC of the Republican Attorneys General Association, pumped $6.5 million into Miyare’s campaign. The contribution pushes RAGA to the top of the candidate’s donor list. The Republican Attorneys General Association gave an additional $4.2 million to Miyares as controversies over Jones’ leaked texts threatened his candidacy.
In the race for lieutenant governor, Democrat Ghazala Hashmi has a substantial fundraising advantage over GOP choice John Reid.
Where the money is coming from
Top donors in statewide races
Money follows big issues
The General Assembly’s special session to initiate early redistricting of the state’s 11 congressional districts has become another key, late issue in statewide races. The National Democratic Redistricting Committee donated about $300,000 in late September and early October, sending half to Spanberger’s campaign and half to the House Democratic Caucus.
Spanberger, who was publicly cool to the idea of redistricting congressional seats this summer, said this week she would not oppose the effort to draw more districts favorable to Democrats.
Gaming interests continue to fuel debate and fill campaign coffers in Richmond. The Sports Betting Alliance, a Texas-based lobby for the major sports betting franchises, has spent nearly $2.5 million on Virginia candidates this year, including more than $2 million on Democrats.
The gaming group sent $500,000 to Spanberger’s campaign, $500,000 to the Democratic Party of Virginia, and $450,000 to the Virginia Future Generations PAC aligned with the party. It gave $300,000 to the Republican Moving Mountains PAC, according to VPAP.
State lawmakers continue to create a framework for regulating the gaming industry. While gaming has grown rapidly in the commonwealth, the industry is overseen by a patchwork of agencies. Lawmakers are studying the establishment of a state gaming commission.
Energy and the environment political action groups also continue to drive donations. Federal environmental regulations and subsidies have been targets of President Donald Trump’s administration.
Dominion Energy has spent nearly $15 million on campaign contributions this election cycle across all campaigns.
Michael Bills, the hedge-fund founder and clean energy supporter, remains the state’s top individual donor. Since 2024, Bills has donated $6.45 million this election cycle, mostly through the Clean Virginia Fund, according to VPAP. The fund has almost exclusively supported Democrats.
Organized labor, including the American Federation of Teachers, donated over $1.5 million to Spanberger this cycle. Labor groups have made no contributions to Earle-Sears.
A veteran’s PAC, VoteVets, has contributed over $1 million to Spanberger.
Democrats are trying to win back the three statewide positions from Republicans, who swept the races four years ago. In 2021, the two major candidates for governor, Glenn Youngkin and Terry McAuliffe, spent a combined $137 million on their campaigns.
Fundraising is not necessarily predictive of election results, said Kyle Kondik of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. However, he said several factors show Spanberger holding a strong position in the race, including recent, favorable polls and donations coming to her campaign. “The money is one of those indicators in the Virginia race,” Kondik said.
“The other thing about Virginia is, of course, it doesn't really have any sort of meaningful campaign spending restrictions,” he said. “You have a lot of outside groups that will come in states where there are donation limits, but in Virginia, you don't necessarily have to do that, because you can just write big checks to the candidate that you prefer.”
Reach Louis Hansen at louis.hansen@vcij.org and Kunle Falayi at kunle.falayi@vcij.org.
