Rappahannock News

Cao tops June fundraisin­g in 10th Congressio­nal District

Spanberger tops in 7th District; Democrats have more cash heading into fall

- B N S InsideNoVa

Democrats and Republican­s split the lead in recent fundraisin­g totals in the two of the region's congressio­nal districts, but the Democratic incumbents have signi cantly more cash on hand heading into the fall midterm election.

Republican Hung Cao outpaced incumbent Rep. Jennifer Wexton in the 10th District, which includes Rappahanno­ck County. Democratic U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger outraised her challenger in the 7th, while includes neighborin­g Culpeper County.

The latest campaign nance report covers contributi­ons from June 2 to June 30.

The 10th District spans, in addition to Rappahanno­ck, Loudoun and Fauquier counties, western Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park cities and a small portion of Fairfax County.

Wexton, a Democrat, was rst elected to the seat in 2018 and is seeking her third term.

Redistrict­ing moved the 7th District from a swath of central Virginia west of Richmond to Northern Virginia. It now covers eastern Prince William, the city of Fredericks­burg and all of King George, Sta ord, Spotsylvan­ia, Caroline, Culpeper, Orange, Greene and Madison counties plus about 35 voters in Albemarle County.

Spanberger, who lives in Henrico County just outside Richmond, is seeking her third term representi­ng the 7th. Redistrict­ing put her home in the 1st District, represente­d by Republican Rob Wittman. However, congressio­nal representa­tives are not required to live in their district.

Spanberger is being challenged by Prince William County Supervisor Yesli Vega, who won the GOP primary in June.

10TH DISTRICT

Cao led June fundraisin­g in the 10th District with $525,480. He also received the most small-dollar contributi­ons of the four candidates, totaling $183,741.

Still, Politico rates the 10th District as "likely Democratic."

Of his total, Cao received $252,000 from PACs.

Raptor PAC, associated with U.S. Rep. August P uger, R-Texas, provided $1,000. Cao also got $2,000 from House Majority Whip Steve Scalise.

Cao reported $294,299 from WinRed. “These results are a strong testament to Cao’s message of unity resonating with Virginians,” Cao’s campaign posted on Twitter. “[The district] doesn’t want the rubber-stamp candidate for Joe Biden’s failed policies.”

The GOP nominee spent $392,356 in June and had $354,182 remaining.

Although Wexton didn’t raise as much as Cao in June, she has substantia­lly more money remaining.

Wexton reported $379,703 in contributi­ons, of which $146,175 came from PACs.

Her biggest contributi­on was $37,000 from the joint fundraisin­g Virginia House Victory PAC. She also received $30,920 from Forward Virginia.

Wexton had several donations from big businesses.

She received $5,000 each from The Home Depot, United Airlines and Bechtel Group, a constructi­on company. Wexton reported $3,000 each from Amazon Inc. and Planned Parenthood. She received $2,500 from Comcast, $2,000 each from Wells Fargo and AFLAC and $1,000 from Walmart.

Wexton’s colleagues also chipped into her campaign, with $2,000 from House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, $1,000 from Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., and $500 from Rep. Ami Bera, D- Calif.

Big-time Democratic donor Sonjia Smith of the Charlottes­ville area contribute­d $5,800 in June.

Prince William County Board Chair Ann Wheeler donated $500, and Neabsco Supervisor Victor Angry gave $250.

Wexton spent $108,622 in June and had about $3.6 million remaining in her campaign war chest.

“I’m grateful for the strong show of support from so many Virginians this quarter, which underscore­s just how red up people are to defend this seat and continue the historic progress we’ve made in Congress,” Wexton said in a news release. “Virginia-10 voters know they can count on me to ght to improve the lives of families in every community. I look forward to continuing our campaign full-steam ahead and talking to every voter about what’s at stake in this election.”

7TH DISTRICT

In June, Spanberger outraised Vega, who was competing in a six-way primary.

The race could potentiall­y decide control of the House of Representa­tives in what is expected to be a tight midterm election this fall.

Spanberger won both her terms in the 7th District by less than 2 percentage points, but the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics rated the 7th District race as leaning Democratic.

The Cook Political Report, however, rated the race as a toss-up.

Spanberger reported $654,766 raised in June. Of her fundraisin­g totals, her small donations of less than $200 totaled $112,910.

Spanberger spent $172,543 and reported about $4.9 million remaining in her campaign co ers at the end of June.

Vega reported $233,618 raised in June. Her small-dollar donations totaled $51,004.

In total, Vega reported $48,000 from PACs.

She spent $107,548 in June and had $246,070 remaining at the end of the month.

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