Elections for all 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates are taking place on November 2, 2021. Democrats hold 55 seats and Republicans hold 45 seats. In 2019, Democrats gained control of the chamber from Republicans by picking up six seats when Republicans had held a 51-49 majority. As a result, 2021 is the first election cycle since 1999 with Democrats defending a majority in the chamber.
In the 2021 election cycle, Democratic candidates have raised a combined $28.5 million to Republicans’ $10.9 million. In the 2019 cycle, Democratic candidates raised $15.8 million at this point while Republicans raised $13.1 million. In this article, we’ll look at select campaign finance data points and how they compare to the 2019 election cycle.
Total money raised
Between Jan. 1, 2020, and Aug. 31, 2021, Democratic candidates have raised 57 percent more money than in the previous election cycle, while Republican candidates have raised 19 percent less money. The chart below compares the total funds raised by candidates of each political party through Aug. 31 of each election cycle in 2021 and 2019.
Five districts with the most fundraising
In the 2021 election cycle, the five districts with the most fundraising exceeded $1 million each. In the 2019 election cycle, only two districts had fundraising totaling more than $1 million at this point in time.
| Most expensive races (1/1/2020 – 8/31/2021) | Most expensive races (1/1/2018 – 8/31/2019) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| District | Funds raised | District | Funds raised |
| District 89 | $2,357,862.70 | District 40 | $1,725,113.52 |
| District 11 | $2,109,943.85 | District 66 | $1,648,306.55 |
| District 10 | $1,427,115.04 | District 10 | $954,747.49 |
| District 41 | $1,353,323.67 | District 94 | $912,502.83 |
| District 40 | $1,100,583.90 | District 76 | $871,691.62 |
Top ten fundraisers
In the 2021 election cycle, two candidates have raised more than $2 million each. In the 2019 election cycle, no candidate had raised more than $1.2 million at this point in time.
| Top fundraisers (1/1/2020 – 8/31/2021) | Top fundraisers (1/1/2018 – 8/31/2019) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Funds raised | Name | Funds raised |
| Jerrauld Jones (D) | $2,330,658.71 | Kirk Cox (R) | $1,177,816.49 |
| S. Rasoul (D) | $2,069,106.10 | Tim Hugo (R) | $1,101,445.44 |
| Eileen Filler-Corn (D) | $1,353,025.49 | Chris Jones (R) | $721,063.34 |
| Charniele Herring (D) | $952,894.37 | Dan Helmer (D) | $623,668.08 |
| Elizabeth Guzman (D) | $918,627.01 | Nick Freitas (R) | $544,907.56 |
| Luke Torian (D) | $799,546.66 | Danica Roem (D) | $527,411.77 |
| Dan Helmer (D) | $751,851.02 | Carrie Coyner (R) | $525,967.66 |
| Candi King (D) | $723,276.37 | Eileen Filler-Corn (D) | $518,929.00 |
| Wendy Gooditis (D) | $713,788.18 | Randall Minchew (R) | $513,943.89 |
| Nick Clemente (R) | $713,326.86 | Shelly Simonds (D) | $505,487.60 |
The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Virginia candidate political action committees (candidate PACs) submitted to the Virginia Department of Elections. It includes fundraising activity between Jan. 1, 2020, and Aug. 31, 2021, as well as Jan. 1, 2018, and Aug. 31, 2019. Candidate PACs represent individuals who have run for state or local office at any point, including past and present officeholders. This article does not include non-candidate PACs.
This article was published in partnership with Transparency USA. Click here to learn more about that partnership.