Some Newcomers Rely Heavily on a Single Donor

Fundraising for the next round of state House elections got off to its fastest start ever this year, with nearly two dozen challengers and open-seat candidates raising at least $10,000 by the end of June. There were two reasons for the quick start: Redistricting resulted in an unprecedented number of open seats, which created opportunities for newcomers. And it was possible the courts might schedule state House elections this November, a year sooner than expected. The visual below shows that in this accelerated timeline, many campaigns relied heavily on a single donor, often the candidate himself/herself or the advocacy group, Clean Virginia.