The final fundraising totals for candidates prior to the Primary came out last week. The numbers are larger, but the trends and storylines haven’t changed – Eugene Vindman is outraising everyone.
The pre-primary fundraising totals are in. The same trends we reported in the spring hold true now; the numbers are just larger. And there’s still no doubt about who’s holding all the cash.
Eugene Vindman has raised $5,025,299. The next closest candidate in Virginia seeking a seat in Congress? Dan Helmer (10th District), a Democrat who’s raised $1,516,467.
The two closest to Vindman in the 7th District race are Republicans Derrick Anderson ($1,097,243) and Cameron Hamilton ($721,659.03).
Far from sitting on his war chest, Vindman is spending aggressively.
According to his campaign manager, Jeremy Levinson, the cost of paid communications — television, digital, and mail — has, unsurprisingly, taken a significant chunk out of the campaign’s coffers.
If past is prelude, then the amount spent to win the general election will make today’s totals look quaint. Levinson anticipates fundraising to accelerate once the general election kicks off.
Abigail Spanberger spent more than $12 million to win the seat in 2018, 2020, and 2022.
Vindman’s campaign has been dogged from the beginning with criticism over the amount of outside dollars that have fueled his campaign. As the Advance pointed out in “District 7 Has Become Pricey,” however, out-of-state contributions have over the past decade played a significant role in campaigns for the 7th District.
The new data from the Federal Elections Commission again shows out-of-state dollars far outpacing in-state dollars for Vindman. However, again, Republicans Anderson and Hamilton also are getting the majority of their funds from outside of Virginia.
Welcome to the new normal in 7th District — for Democrats and Republicans alike.
Primary Day is June 18
Democrats and Republicans will go to the polls tomorrow to select their candidates for District 7 to run in the general election in November.
To find out more about voting precincts, voting maps, and more, visit our Election 2024 page.
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