These Hampton Roads candidates raised the most money in House of Delegates races

Yahoo

21 hours ago

Four out of the top five biggest fundraisers for House of Delegates races in Hampton Roads are Democrats.
All 100 seats are up for election in the fall, and Democrats have fielded candidates in each race. Republicans have candidates in 83 races.
Top fundraising Democrats in the region include House Speaker Don Scott of Portsmouth, who raised about $3.4 million; Del. Jeion Ward of Hampton, who raised $394,000; Del. Michael Feggans of Virginia Beach, who raised $378,423; and Jessica Anderson, a Democratic candidate for District 71, who raised $357,000, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, which consolidated numbers from campaign finance filings made last week.
Republican Del. Barry Knight, who represents Virginia Beach, rounded out the top five candidates, raising about $312,000.
In Hampton Roads, House candidates who have raised top dollar amounts received funding from groups such as utility company Dominion Energy, developer Comstock Hospitality Holdings and Virginia Trial Lawyers PAC.
Much of Scott's funding came from large donations, categorized for General Assembly races as over $1,000. In addition to $125,000 from Dominion, he received $35,000 from East Coast Amusements, which sells arcade machines, and $30,000 from PPE Resort Casino Petersburg.
Dominion gave $25,000 to Ward, but also to Republican candidates in other districts. Donations include $20,000 to Knight, $15,000 to Del. Amanda Batten of James City and $7,500 to Del. Anne Tata of Virginia Beach.
VPAP characterizes Scott's and Ward's districts as strongly Democratic — Scott doesn't have a Republican challenger, and Ward opponent John Chapman has so far raised a little more than $800. Each has donated to other campaigns.
Scott's PAC is the fourth largest donor in Virginia, contributing more than $2.2 million to other campaigns. Most of that money went to the House Democratic Caucus, but the campaign has also given smaller amounts to individual candidates such as Del. Patrick Hope of Arlington, who received $25,000.
Scott's campaign also has supported down-ballot races in Hampton Roads. Matthew Hamel and Stephanie Morales each received $10,000 for their campaigns for commonwealth's attorney of Chesapeake and Portsmouth, respectively. Ward's PAC donated $150,000 to the House Democratic Caucus.
Knight is in a similar boat in a strongly Republican district, having raised about $312,000 to opponent Cheryl Smith's $12,500. Knight's PAC donated $41,000 to other Republican campaigns between 2024 and now, with $21,000 going to the Republican Commonwealth Leadership PAC and $5,000 to Del. Chad Green, who represents parts of Gloucester and James City County. He also donated $5,000 to Felisha Storm, who is challenging Del. Nadarius Clark in District 84.
Districts 71, 86, 89 and 91 are considered competitive by VPAP, with no clear party favorite. Democrats have so far raised more money in those districts. In District 71, Anderson has outpaced Batten, raising about $357,000 to the Republican incumbent's $306,000.
Likewise, Democrat Virgil Thornton raised about $150,000 to Republican incumbent AC Cordoza's $106,000 in District 86, which includes parts of Hampton and York. In Virginia Beach's District 97, Feggans has raised $378,000 to Republican challenger Tim Anderson's $241,000.
District 89 is up for grabs after Republican Del. Baxter Ennis announced his retirement this year. Democrat Karen Carnegie and Republican Mike Lamonea, are in a tight fundraising race, with Carnegie raising $205,000 to Lamonea's $195,000. Both won primary elections in June to secure their party's nomination.
Democrats running for statewide office are outpacing Republicans in two of three races.
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger has raised $27.1 million to her opponent Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears's $11.6 million. Democrat Ghazala Hashmi, a state senator, has raised $3.5 million in her campaign for lieutenant governor. Her Republican opponent, conservative radio host John Reid, has raised about $441,000.
Breaking the trend, incumbent Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares has raised $9.4 million to Democratic nominee Jay Jones' $4.9 million. Both are from Hampton Roads — Miyares from Virginia Beach; Jones from Norfolk.
Kate Seltzer, 757-713-7881, [e-mail]