Some very good news today out of Virginia:
Virginia’s Democratic gubernatorial contender Ralph Northam raised more than twice as much money this summer as Republican opponent Ed Gillespie and had a war chest twice as large heading into the last two months of the campaign, according to new finance reports.
In July and August, Northam raised $7.2 million, while Gillespie took in $3.7 million in the same period.
That left Northam, the sitting lieutenant governor, with $5.6 million in cash to Gillespie’s $2.6 million as of Aug. 31, according to data released Saturday by the non-profit Virginia Public Access Project.
Northam’s summer fundraising erases a 2-1 cash advantage that Gillespie held immediately after the June 13 primary. Northam spent most of his early money on the primary contest to defeat former congressman Tom Perriello for the Democratic nomination while Gillespie had conserved funds in his primary match against Corey A. Stewart.
This is great news because Gillespie was outspending Northam on campaign ads:
Plus, Gillespie was getting some help from the Koch Brothers:
Americans for Prosperity, the group financed by the billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch, is going on air to attack Virginia Democratic gubernatorial contender Ralph Northam as part of a multi-million dollar campaign.
A commercial set to air Thursday on cable networks statewide blasts Northam, the sitting lieutenant governor, for missing board meetings of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.
The partnership, created by the state legislature in 1995 to boost economic development, has long been criticized for waste and dysfunction. In 2014, while Northam served on its board of directors, the agency approved a $1.4 million state grant to a Chinese firm that promised to open a factory in Appomattox County but never did. The money was never returned to the state.
Levi Russell, a spokesman for Americans for Prosperity, said the ad buy ranges from $1 million to $2 million, and will run for two weeks. He said the commercial is the first round of paid television advertising, but declined to say how much the organization plans to spend through Election Day in November.
In contrast, Northam has been endorsed and received fundraising help from the League of Conservation Voters and Tom Steyer. Northam and fellow Virginia Democrats have also received a lot of support from Planned Parenthood:
A slew of liberal groups are teaming up for a $2 million digital ad buy aiming to drive Virginia voters to the polls in November and back Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam for governor.
Planned Parenthood Votes and Planned Parenthood Virginia PAC, the Tom Steyer-backed Next Gen America, Priorities USA Action and the Virginia League of Conservation Voters PAC are all contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars to the effort, which will begin this week and run until Election Day. The ads will aim to reach and turn out more than 1.2 million voters.
"When it comes to women’s health in Virginia, everything is on the line, which is why we are doubling down to elect progressive champion Ralph Northam," said Deirdre Schifeling, the executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes. "We are pushing boundaries with the most coordinated and innovative digital program we've seen on this scale. This cutting edge digital program in Virginia will set a new precedent for coordinated investment and execution of a digital media program to reach, persuade and mobilize voters in a statewide race."
And Northam also has been getting help from other great organizations:
Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, the campaign arm of one of the nation’s biggest gun control groups, announced Thursday that it would spend at least $1 million in Virginia as part of an “initial investment” to elect Democrats in November.
The fund is donating $450,000 directly to gubernatorial contender Ralph Northam, and spending $250,000 on mailers on his behalf. It’s also giving $300,000 to Attorney General Mark Herring for his re-election bid, as he faces attack advertising from the National Rifle Association.
“We are making this initial investment because Ralph Northam and Mark Herring have been forceful champions for gun violence prevention in Virginia, while their opponents subscribe to a dangerous ‘guns everywhere’ agenda,” Brynne Craig, a senior strategist for Everytown, said in a statement.
Everytown, a New York-based advocacy group largely bankrolled by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has been a big spender in recent Virginia contests.
Now, volunteers with Moms Demand Action in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area plan to canvass and to make phone calls for Northam and other Democrats.
“They stand with the majority of Virginians who know that our Second Amendment rights come with responsibilities to keep guns out of dangerous hands,” said Amy McPike, a Loudoun County volunteer for the group.
Americans for Responsible Solutions, a gun control group led by former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, has endorsed the Democratic ticket in Virginia, but has yet to announce any donations. It has spent more than $700,000 on Virginia campaigns in recent years, according to data compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project.
On the other side of the gun debate, the National Rifle Association - headquartered in Virginia - has endorsed all three Republicans running for statewide office.
And a brand new group that I’m loving:
A Democratic group backed by former President Barack Obama recently made its first campaign donation: $500,000 to the Democratic Party of Virginia to help elect Ralph Northam as the state’s next governor.
The contribution from the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC) is part of its mission to end Republican advantages in congressional and legislative redistricting after the 2020 U.S. Census.
The group, formed in January and led by former Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., aims to elect more Democrats to statehouses and governor’s mansions so they can expand their influence when it comes to redrawing districts.
Virginia’s next governor will be in a position to sign or veto redrawn districts in 2021, shaping politics in the swing state for the next decade.
Obama has said ending gerrymandering would be one of his top political priorities after leaving office. He headlined a July fundraiser for NDRC, which raised $10.8 million across its affiliates during the first half of the year, and plans to stump for Northam.
Of course, a strong grassroots campaign made this possible and as we get closer to November, the timing could not be more perfect. We cannot allow Gillespie to pull a surprise victory, especially since he’s trying to energize the Trump base, which has also been causing him some
major headaches since narrowly beating “Mini-Trump” Corey Stewart (R. VA) in the GOP primary:
“Gillespie is a political pro, but he’s being squeezed by Corey Stewart and Trump on one side, and on the other by voters who don’t want anything to do with Trump or Corey Stewart,” says Larry Sabato, founder and director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “He’s got a very narrow path to victory.”
Asked if he’s pushing Gillespie to the right, Stewart said, “I’m trying to.” Gillespie has hired Jack Morgan, an associate pastor at Real Life Ministries in Wytheville, Virginia, who calls the effort to remove Confederate monuments the product of “crazy leftists, some socialists, but a whole lot of communists too.”
“Jack and I are very close,” says Stewart. “The issue for Gillespie is he doesn’t have a strong base that’s committed to him, and he has to play to the base because he doesn’t have one.
“If they—meaning very conservative Virginians—don’t show up, he can’t win,” says Stewart. “I don’t want to overplay my significance, but it would help if I got out there and encouraged people at rallies to vote... Ed has not asked for my help. If asked, I would give it.”
Stewart says his supporters are “suspicious” of Gillespie because Trump hasn’t embraced him, at least not yet. That may be as much Gillespie’s decision as Trump’s, given the tightrope Gillespie is walking. “When I’m running for Senate, I’m going to beg the president to come down here,” says Stewart. “That’s a decision Ed has to make.”
“There’s no downside (for Stewart) to the tight spot he’s putting Ed Gillespie in,” says Quentin Kidd, director of the Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport College in Virginia. “If Gillespie wins, Stewart can say it’s because he ran more to the right; if he doesn’t win, he can say he didn’t run enough to the right… I’m sure Gillespie would like Stewart to go on a real long vacation and return after November 7, and then run for the U.S. Senate.”
Stewart has set his sights on Democrat Tim Kaine’s seat in Virginia next year, a long shot considering how popular Kaine remains in the state even after joining Hillary Clinton on the Democrats’ losing presidential ticket.
Let’s keep up the momentum and help Northam and the whole Democratic ticket and party usher in a huge Blue Wave this year in Virginia>
Ralph Northam for Governor
Tim Kaine for U.S. Senate
Justin Fairfax for Lt. Governor
Mark Herring for Attorney General
Virginia Democratic Party