The Democratic candidate in a race for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District has outraised her Republican opponent in the conservative stronghold in the last quarter before the November election, according to financial reports filed with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday.
Gloria Witt, the Democratic candidate in the race for Virginia’s 5th District, raised $218,627 between July 1 and Sept. 30. Republican candidate state Sen. John McGuire raised $198,577 during that same period, according to FEC filings.
The Democratic Party of Virginia attributed Witt’s ability to financially outpace McGuire in the ruby-red district to infighting among Republicans after the incumbent, Rep. Bob Good, lost a bitter June 18 primary to McGuire. The primary was won by McGuire by about 370 votes after he received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump. That slim margin showed a split in the party in the 5th District and prompted Good to request a recount as he cast doubt on the validity of the election results on social media.
“There’s a reason John McGuire isn’t raising money — he still doesn’t have the support of his own party,” Susan Swecker, Virginia’s Democratic Party chair, said in a statement.
Rich Anderson, Virginia’s Republican Party chair, acknowledged that some conservative voters in the 5th District still refuse to support McGuire after the contentious primary. That number is too small to make a difference in the outcome on Nov. 5, however, he said.
“Regardless of any effort by Democrat Gloria Witt, Republican John McGuire remains in an exceptionally strong position to win the 5th Congressional District seat,” he said in an email.
A post-primary money bump for both after McGuire’s funds were depleted
Both campaigns saw a post-primary bump in contributions. McGuire saw a 69% increase in campaign contributions over the previous quarter while Witt saw a 476% increase over the previous quarter.
McGuire’s campaign far outpaced Witt’s in total money raised over the course of the last year, however. He raised $1.6 million between October 2023 and September 2024 to Witt’s $277,105 in the same timeframe.
Most of McGuire’s money was spent during the hotly contested primary against Good. His campaign has $121,562 on hand, compared to Witt’s $163,904 on hand, going into the final stretch before the general election, according to FEC data.
“We’re incredibly proud of every dollar raised, because each one reflects the hard work and dedication of nearly 2,000 hard working supporters across this district,” Witt said in a statement. “Their belief in this campaign has fueled over 150 events in every corner of the 5th, and it’s allowed us to build a robust media presence, buy thousands of signs, print tens of thousands of literature pieces, and pay a small but incredibly talented professional staff.”
Sean Brown, a spokesperson for McGuire’s campaign, attributed its lower fundraising numbers to the weekslong wait for the recount to be completed after the June 18 primary.
“We had a recount, that effort left things in question as to who the nominee was going to be on the Republican side. That ate into a significant amount of our fundraising time for the quarter,” Brown said. “Once it was settled we kicked it into gear and we have the money we need to win this race.”
Where is the money in the 5th District election coming from?
That answer is difficult to find.
Campaigns are required to break down the contributions they receive into quarterly reports to the FEC. Those reports often include five categories: total contributions, transfers from other authorized committees, total loans received, offsets to operating expenditures, and other receipts.
The “total contributions” category includes four subcategories:
- Total individual contributions: This could be money donated from voters, for example.
- Party committee contributions: This could be contributions from other politicians or political parties.
- Other committee contributions: This could be contributions from PACs connected to businesses or labor organizations.
- Candidate contributions: Money paid by the candidate to support their own bid for office.
Total individual contributions to a campaign then breaks into two more subcategories: itemized contributions and unitemized contributions. Campaigns are not required to itemize individual contributions that are less than $200, which can make tracking where that money is coming from more difficult. Platforms that funnel money from donors to the candidate of their choice — like WinRed or ActBlue — make parsing out that data even more difficult.
Here’s what was discoverable in each campaign’s FEC report, with the candidates listed in order of the highest fundraiser over the life of the campaign.
State Sen. John McGuire, Republican
McGuire, a staunch conservative and an early supporter of former President Donald Trump, attended the “Stop the Steal” rally outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He has said that he has “a Biblical worldview and will always stand up for righteousness.” He was first elected to represent the 56th District in the Virginia House of Delegates in 2017, when the district included areas north and west of Richmond, prior to redistricting. He ran unopposed in the 2023 election for the 10th Senate District and announced his bid for Congress just days after winning the seat.
Total money raised by McGuire’s campaign between October 2023 and September 2024: $1,671,417
That total, broken down:
- Individual campaign contributions, itemized by the FEC: $910,576
- Individual campaign contributions less than $200, not itemized by the FEC: $57,106
- Contributions from other campaign committees or PACs: $181,150
- Transfers from other campaign committees or PACs: $517,422
- Contributions from the candidate: $0
- Offsets to operating costs: $5,038
- Other receipts: $125
Gloria Witt, Democrat
Witt was born and raised in Amherst County, and while she’s always considered herself a “country girl,” she is also a businesswoman, a mother and a grandmother. She has worked for 32 years with global energy leader Framatome (formerly AREVA). She also serves as a board member of several organizations, including as president of the NAACP Amherst County branch and as a board member with the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities.
Total money raised by Witt’s campaign between October 2023 and September 2024: $277,105
That total, broken down:
- Individual campaign contributions, itemized by the FEC: $165,205
- Individual campaign contributions less than $200, not itemized by the FEC: $100,175
- Contributions from other campaign committees or PACs: $11,350
- Transfers from other campaign committees or PACs: $0
- Contributions from the candidate: $25
- Offsets to operating costs: $350
- Other receipts: $0