You can see where the candidates stand in our Voter Guide.
Tens of millions of dollars are flowing into the coffers of Virginia candidates seeking federal office.
Much of that money is going to support the U.S. Senate race between Democratic incumbent Sen. Tim Kaine and his challenger, Republican Hung Cao, along with the state’s two hotly competitive Congressional races in the 2nd and 7th Congressional Districts.
Candidates in the 6th and 9th Congressional Districts received about $2 million between the two Republicans and two Democrats, with the incumbents claiming the lion’s share. Democratic candidate Gloria Witt outraised her Republican opponent, state Sen. John McGuire, in the ruby-red 5th Congressional District by about $20,000 in the October quarter. McGuire’s campaign attributed his lackluster fundraising to the primary recount, which took about 6 weeks to complete.
About $26.2 million was raised between Kaine and Cao, with Kaine claiming most of that money. Of the tens of millions raised, about $19.6 million was spent, according to reports released by the FEC in October.
Of the money spent by the U.S. Senate candidates, about $3.7 million had been spent in ad buys. Of that, $391,999 was spent on ads in support of Cao, and $3.3 million was spent on ads in support of Kaine, according to data compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project.
Where is the money in the U.S. Senate, 6th and 9th District elections 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.
U.S. Senate
Incumbent Sen. Tim Kaine, Democrat
Total raised: $19.7 million
- Individual campaign contributions, itemized by the FEC: $6.8 million
- Individual campaign contributions less than $200, not itemized by the FEC: $4.1 million
- Contributions from other campaign committees or PACs: $2.4 million
- Transfers from other authorized committees: $6 million
- Offsets to operating expenditures: $55,467
- Other receipts: $307,209
Contributing PACs include Burns and McDonnell, Inc., Constellation Brands, Inc., AKSM Urology, Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, The Real Estate Roundtable, K&L Gates LLP, Mortgage Bankers Association, M-PAC, American Federation of Teachers, NCTA – The Internet and Television Association, Narragansett Bay, Amazon, Keystone America, Motor City, S & P Global, DynCorp Federal and USACS, among dozens of others.
Challenger Hung Cao, Republican
Total raised: $6.5 million
- Individual campaign contributions, itemized by the FEC: $3.6 million
- Individual campaign contributions less than $200, not itemized by the FEC: $2.8 million
- Contributions from other campaign committees or PACs: $87,647
- Transfers from other authorized committees: $105,491
- Other receipts: $2,404
Contributing PACs include Texas Red, Send in the Seal, Common Values, Boots, Seal PAC Supporting Electing American Leaders, Madison Project Inc., The Eye of the Tiger, The Guardian Fund, Family Research Council Action, Huck PAC and Congressional Leadership Fund, among dozens of others.
6th Congressional District
Incumbent Rep. Ben Cline, Republican
Total raised: $929,056
- Individual campaign contributions, itemized by the FEC: $416,662
- Individual campaign contributions less than $200, not itemized by the FEC: $50,929
- Contributions from other campaign committees or PACs: $443,235
- Offsets to operating expenditures: $18,230
Contributing PACs include National Cattleman’s Beef Association, Space Exploration Technologies, National Automobile Dealer’s Association, Cox Enterprises, American Crystal Sugar Company, National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, American Israel Public Affairs Committee and The Boeing Company, among dozens of others.
Challenger Ken Mitchell, Democrat
Total raised: $171,971
- Individual campaign contributions, itemized by the FEC: $111,142
- Individual campaign contributions less than $200, not itemized by the FEC: $41,049
- Contributions from other campaign committees or PACs: $19,280
- Loans received: $500
Contributing PACs include various county Democratic committees, IBEW Voluntary Fund, CWA – COPE, SMART TD, Machinists Non-Partisan Political League Multi Candidate Committee and New Virginia Democratic PAC, among others.
9th Congressional District
Incumbent Rep. Morgan Griffith, Republican
Total raised: $904,558
- Individual campaign contributions, itemized by the FEC: $267,935
- Individual campaign contributions less than $200, not itemized by the FEC: $23,570
- Contributions from other campaign committees or PACs: $610,350
- Other receipts: $2,703
Contributing PACs include Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding, Altria, American Academy of Dermatology, American Academy of Neurology, American Academy of Ophthalmology, AT&T, Celanese Corp, Charter Communications, Comcast, Dominion Energy, Farm Credit Council, Koch Industries, Majority Committee, National Cable and Telecommunications Association, National Community Pharmacists, Reynolds American Inc., The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and Valero Energy, among dozens of others.
Challenger Karen Baker, Democrat
Total raised: $185,943
- Individual campaign contributions, itemized by the FEC: $105,915
- Individual campaign contributions less than $200, not itemized by the FEC: $67,354
- Contributions from other campaign committees or PACs: $10,674
- Loans made by the candidate: $2,000
Contributing PACs include various county Democratic committees, United Mine Workers of America, National Organization for Women, Roanoke Valley Democratic Women and Biggs for Supervisor.