All those streaming ads you’ve been seeing for political candidates cost money, and broadcasting statewide in Virginia is expensive.
The lieutenant governor might be the highest post on the ticket in next week’s primary, but the race for the Democratic nomination for attorney general is attracting top dollar campaign cash. The latest campaign finance disclosures show former Delegate Jay Jones and Henrico County prosecutor Shannon Taylor have both raised more than two million dollars. J. Miles Coleman at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics says that’s because rival interest groups are throwing money at this Democratic primary.
“One of the themes in statewide politics over the past few years has been this proxy battle in these primaries between Dominion Energy and a group called Clean Virginia, which has tried to offset that some," Coleman says. "It looks like Taylor has closed the gap against Jay Jones partially from donations from Dominion.”
Only one of the six Democratic hopefuls for lieutenant governor raised more than two million dollars – that would be former Richmond Mayor Levar. Meanwhile, the primary for attorney general might end up being more expensive and more consequential, says dean of the Schar School at George Mason University, Mark Rozell. He says Democrats want to run against Trump.
“That’s a good issue for Democrats because there will be state-level battles with the Trump administration just as there are between California and the administration right now," Rozell says.
Primary Day is Tuesday June 17th, and early voting started last month. Democrats have already chosen their nominee for governor, and Republicans have already chosen their statewide candidates.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
