RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — During the first three weeks of October, Republican candidate for Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin outraised Democrat Terry McAuliffe, while McAuliffe outspent Youngkin, according to campaign finance reports.
Youngkin closed out the period with a nearly $6 million cash-on-hand advantage, according to reports compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonpartisan tracker of money in state politics.
The two candidates have already blown past fundraising records from previous Virginia gubernatorial elections, according to VPAP’s accounting. They’ve raised a combined $117 million through Oct. 21, nearly double the haul of the second-highest fundraising total in the past 20 years.
Youngkin, a wealthy former private equity executive, has poured at least $20 million of his own money into his run against McAuliffe, a former Democratic Party fundraiser who previously held the governor’s office from 2014-2018. With a week to go until Election Day, all signs indicate a tight race between the two candidates, despite Virginia’s blue tilt over the past decade.
Youngkin raised $15.4 million during the stretch between Oct. 1 and Oct. 21, including a $3.5 million loan to his campaign, compared with McAuliffe’s $12.9 million haul.
McAuliffe spent $18.8 million during the period, and Youngkin spent $11 million. That left them with about $1.9 million and about $7.9 million cash on hand, respectively.
Also on the ballot is third-party candidate Princess Blanding, who raised $4,550 and ended the period with $7,281 cash on hand.
In the race for lieutenant governor, Democratic nominee Hala Ayala outraised GOP nominee Winsome Sears by nearly $2 million during the period, and ended with $323,076 cash on hand, compared with Sears’ $84,765.
Boosted by over $2 million from the Republican Attorneys General Association’s political action committee, GOP nominee for attorney general Jason Miyares far outraised incumbent Mark Herring and ended the period with a little over $2 million in cash on hand, compared with Herring’s $212,852.
All 100 seats of the House of Delegates, where Democrats currently have a 55-45 majority, are also up for election this year.
Democrats maintained their lead in total cash on hand over the reporting period, according to VPAP, and six-figure sums flowed to dozens of candidates, including those in some of the most closely contested races. The top House fundraiser was Del. Wendy Gooditis, who brought in nearly $1.4 million and spent about $1.2 million in her race against GOP challenger Nick Clemente in the 10th House District, which consists mostly of Loudoun County.
Clemente raised a little over a half-million dollars during the same time.
The reporting period is the final comprehensive report due before Election Day, though candidates now have to report certain “large” donations generally by the day after they are received.
Election Day is Nov. 2, and early voting runs through Saturday.
Both candidates are criss-crossing the state in the final stretch of the race. Among McAuliffe’s events Tuesday was an event with President Joe Biden in northern Virginia. Youngkin was expected to travel across southside Virginia, the region along the North Carolina border, holding an evening rally in Danville.
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