Lawmakers stock up on cash
As election season looms, legislators ramp up fundraising
Election season is upon us, and while state legislators can’t campaign or raise money during the General Assembly session, their latest campaign finance reports reflect how much they’ll be trying to appeal to voters after their 46 days in Richmond end.
All 40 senators and 100 delegates are up for re-election this year. Thanks to a sweep of 15 seats in 2017, Democrats need only two seats in the House and two in the Senate to take control of the General Assembly.
A Virginia Public Access Project compilation of campaign finance data shows House Republicans finished 2018 with about $2.2 million more cash on hand than House Democrats, with Speaker of the House Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights, raising nearly $300,000 in the latest six-month reporting period.
And Cox’s two political action committees raised nearly $609,000 combined between October and December, with the biggest contribution — $43,000 — coming from the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association PAC. He also got $31,500 from Dominion Energy.
Republicans say the cash on hand leaves them well-positioned to hold the majority in 2019.
“Our strong fundraising efforts have allowed us to invest earlier than ever in our campaigns,” House Republican Campaign Chairman Rob Bell said in a press release, adding the party has spent money on targeted races.
Rachel Bitecofer, a political scientist at Christopher Newport University, said Republicans’ campaign efforts show which districts are feeling threatened.
“(Republicans) got caught with their pants down” in 2017 when they lost 15 seats in the House, she said.
Those 15 seats are going to be the most closely watched by Republicans and protected by Democrats, she said.
Republicans in vulnerable districts are also going to be aggressive by ensuring they have enough cash on hand. That includes Sen. Bill DeSteph, R-Virginia Beach, who raised $136,000 and has nearly $144,000 on hand. His 8th Senate District went for Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam in 2017.
Missy Cotter Smasal is the Democrat running against him, and she’s raised $9,300.
An analysis from the Virginia Public Access Project showed Democrats are closing the gap in the amount of cash on hand. At the start of the 2017 election cycle, House Republicans had $6.5 million in the bank, three times as much as Democrats. But Democrats have since shaved more than $2 million off the gap.
The Democratic Party of Virginia PAC raised $400,540 to the Republican Party’s $100,541 between October and the end of December, campaign finance reports show.
Perhaps the most closely watched race in Hampton Roads will be the 94th District, which Del. David Yancey, R-Newport News, kept in 2017 by getting his name pulled out of a bowl after a tie vote.
His opponent, Newport News School Board member Shelly Simonds, says she’s running again. She raised $12,000 to Yancey’s $101,000 between July 1 and Dec. 31.
Republican committees poured money into Yancey’s campaign, as did the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and Dominion Energy.
“After any wave election, both parties are going to be looking at those seats that are really close to try to figure out how to win them back or keep them,” Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington, said over the phone.
He wasn’t surprised at Simonds’ low fundraising numbers. He said donors looking to help challengers in tough races will save their money for after the session.
Democrats have also lined up to challenge Del. Brenda Pogge, R-Norge, who raised nearly $15,000. Democratic challengers Rebecca Leser, Chris Mayfield and Mark Downey each raised less than $5,000, with Downey collecting almost $10,000 in inkind contributions. Libertarian James Jobe, 22, hasn’t filed a campaign finance report in the race.
Candidates in Hampton Roads also have to wait and see whether their district lines change. A federal court is set to pick a new legislative map in the next few weeks that changes as many as 26 districts after the federal judges ruled 11 were racially gerrymandered.
Those whose districts threaten to change — and possibly become more competitive — have also pushed fundraising recently.
“We need to protect the sizable investment you have made in the 93rd and ensure I can win it again, even if it becomes a tough district,” said Del. Mike Mullin, DNewport News, in a campaign email two days before the General Assembly met in Richmond.
Mullin raised around $26,000 in the second half of 2018.
Farnsworth previously told the Daily Press that for an incumbent elected official, the most dangerous election is the second one.
“You’re still introducing yourself to the electorate,” he said. “You aren’t as established as somebody who’s been around several terms, and you’re likely to draw the strongest challengers.”
Del. Cheryl Turpin, D-Virginia Beach, was one of the 15 Democrats who flipped a seat in 2017. She’s raised around $50,000, more than a third of which came from in-kind donations of more than $100.
Her competitor in the 85th District is back: Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office chief deputy Rocky Holcomb, who served one year in the General Assembly after Scott Taylor was elected to Congress. He announced Wednesday he wanted to “reclaim” his seat after losing it to Turpin in 2017.
Legislators are busy in Richmond battling over what to make of a $1.2 billion in unexpected revenue from federal tax cuts over the next two years, and Farnsworth said both political parties are trying to give something back to the voters during election season.
Democrats, led by Gov. Ralph Northam, want to make the Earned Income Tax Credit fully refundable, while Republicans want to allow Virginians to itemize their state taxes when they choose to itemize their federal taxes, something currently not allowed.
Farnsworth said a compromise could be on the horizon.