by Steve Haner

The following popped up in my inbox about two weeks ago when I was badly distracted by the canals and stroopwafels and bicycle frenzy of Amsterdam. But it would be wrong to just delete it without having a bit of fun. The italicized text below is from our friends at Clean Virginia.

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Kendl Kobbervig, Clean Virginia Communications Director
[email protected] | (608) 575-8798

April 17, 2025

Clean Virginia Calls Out Winsome Earle-Sears for Accepting Massive $50,000 Donation from Dominion Energy as Virginians Face Skyrocketing Electric Bills. Abigail Spanberger and Jay Jones’ Refusal to Take Utility Money Highlights Stark Choice for Voters.

Charlottesville, VA — Clean Virginia today criticized gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears for accepting a $50,000 campaign contribution from Dominion Energy, Virginia’s largest electric utility monopoly, as revealed in April 15 campaign finance reports. The donation brings Earle-Sears’ lifetime total from Dominion to a staggering $226,000.

Staggering? No, $226,000 (if that is correct) is not staggering. You want staggering, check out these other Dominion giving totals from the Virginia Public Access Project, the source Clean Virginia cited:

• Scott for Delegate – Don (Speaker of the House): Total: $1,444,900
• House Democratic Caucus:  Total: $1,118,000
• Locke for Senate – Mamie (Chairwoman of Senate Rules): Total: $1,072,000
• Virginia Future Generations PAC (Scott’s leadership PAC): Total: $940,000

That puts Speaker Scott and his personal political action committee combined in the almost $2.4 million range. That is beyond staggering, it is disturbing. The release continues:

Dominion Energy, a state-regulated utility, is the largest corporate political donor in Virginia history and has spent decades using its financial power to influence elections and protect profits for its shareholders. The company’s latest investment in Earle-Sears’ campaign is part of a broader strategy to maintain a regulatory system that prioritizes corporate profits over public interest, resulting in higher electric bills for Virginia families. 

 A “broad strategy” indeed.

•  Lucas for Senate – Louise (Chairwoman, Senate Finance and Appropriations, and President Pro Tempore): Total: $904,886
• Torian for Delegate – Luke (Charman of House Appropriations): Total: $888,869
• Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus: Total: $857,000
• Herring for Delegate – Charniele (House Majority Leader): Total: $677,469

Dominion’s contributions are strategic investments to shield itself from accountability and preserve its ability to overcharge Virginians,” said Kate Asquith, Deputy Director of Clean Virginia. “By accepting this money, Earle-Sears has shown where her loyalties lie—and it’s not with hardworking Virginia families.

Wherever Earle-Sears’ “loyalties lie” in this regard, they are perfectly aligned with the most powerful legislative Democrats, including Speaker Scott, House Floor Leader Herring, Senate President Pro Tempore Lucas and Senate Rules Committee Chairwoman Locke. If money buys votes, they are far more bought than is Earle-Sears. For the Democrats taking little or no Dominion money directly and acting smug about it, Dominion’s massive support for their caucuses and leaders certainly still counts as a donation to their benefit. No money in the world is more fungible than a Virginia campaign check.

Clean Virginia also raised concerns about Dominion’s outsized influence in the race for Attorney General, a critical statewide office that often acts as a voice for consumers in utility rate cases, advocating for fair and reasonable rates. The incumbent Attorney General, Jason Miyares, and Democratic challenger Shannon Taylor have accepted major contributions from the utility—receiving $978,250 and $75,000, respectively, over their careers.

So at least one Democrat got tagged in the release along with Earle-Sears and Miyares for taking Dominion’s money, one out of many Democrats on this year’s ballot who have. Just dismiss the posturing from these self-righteous Pecksniffs until they widen their field of fire to include all those tainted by Virginia’s campaign money free-for-all, including the massive amounts Clean Virginia itself pours into campaign coffers. Buying influence is buying influence.

Yes, Republican candidates and committees have made the “Friends of Dominion” million-dollar or near-million-dollar club, too. Way too many legislators and statewide candidates from both parties have accepted amounts so large they create a strong appearance of corruption. That is hardly a new observation, but nothing ever seems to change. Voters must not care.