Until recently, the race for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District, an open seat that Romney carried 53-46, attracted little national attention. However, on Thursday evening, Politico reported that the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC close to Speaker Paul Ryan, was directing $400,000 to this race. This is the first significant outside spending we’ve seen here on either side.
Even before CLF made its move, there were signs that Democrat Jane Dittmar was making this contest competitive. From July to September, Dittmar outraised Republican Tom Garrett $470,000 to $319,000, and at the end of the last month, she held a $239,000 to $211,000 cash-on-hand edge. Garrett also seems to be taking Dittmar seriously. He recently went up with a contrast commercial arguing that, while Dittmar is weak on national security, he’ll stand up to undocumented immigrants.
Even with Donald Trump’s weak numbers in Virginia, this won’t be an easy seat for Team Blue to flip. In 2013, while Republican E.W. Jackson was losing the lieutenant governor’s race 55-45 statewide, he still took this central Virginia seat 52-48, so it will take a lot to move this district into the blue column. However, Republicans are definitely acting like they could lose here. If Democrats are winning seats this red, it means they have a good chance at taking the House.
Let's turn this seat blue. Please chip in $3 to Jane Dittmar today.
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