Democratic candidates in Virginia House have raised 57 percent more than last cycle; Republicans raised 19 percent less


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)
DistrictFunds raisedDistrictFunds raised
District 89$2,357,862.70District 40$1,725,113.52
District 11$2,109,943.85District 66$1,648,306.55
District 10$1,427,115.04District 10$954,747.49
District 41$1,353,323.67District 94$912,502.83
District 40$1,100,583.90District 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)
NameFunds raisedNameFunds raised
Jerrauld Jones (D)$2,330,658.71Kirk Cox (R)$1,177,816.49
S. Rasoul (D)$2,069,106.10Tim Hugo (R)$1,101,445.44
Eileen Filler-Corn (D)$1,353,025.49Chris Jones (R)$721,063.34
Charniele Herring (D)$952,894.37Dan Helmer (D)$623,668.08
Elizabeth Guzman (D)$918,627.01Nick Freitas (R)$544,907.56
Luke Torian (D)$799,546.66Danica Roem (D)$527,411.77
Dan Helmer (D)$751,851.02Carrie Coyner (R)$525,967.66
Candi King (D)$723,276.37Eileen Filler-Corn (D)$518,929.00
Wendy Gooditis (D)$713,788.18Randall Minchew (R)$513,943.89
Nick Clemente (R)$713,326.86Shelly 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.