Virginia’s elephant clan may be on the defensive in the current electoral cycle, but elephant candidates are still raising more money than the donkey candidates. Working with fund-raising data provided by Clayton Roberts with the Virginia Foundation for Research and Economic Education, I figure that the numbers shake out this way:
Total Raised
Elephant Clan candidates – $25.6 million
Donkey Clan candidates – $21.2 million
Independents and third party — $0.8 million
Cash on Hand
Elephant Clan candidates – $7.9 million
Donkey Clan candidates – $6.5 million
Independents and third party – $0.35 million
Unfortunately, I don’t have any historical data, so I don’t know if the GOP fund-raising edge represents a deterioration from previous election cycles, or whether the party is holding its own. (I’m not seriously entertaining the idea that Republicans have increased their fund-raising advantage this year.)
For those who’ve lost faith in the two-party duopoly, it is heartening to see that there are 25 independents and one libertarian running for office this year. The good news is that they’ve managed to raise $30,000 per candidate on average. The bad news is that two independents — Watkins Abbitt (Appomattox) and Katherine Waddell (Richmond/Chesterfield) — account for more than half the total raised. Only four or five others, including Lacey Putney (Bedford), look remotely viable.
Furthermore, there is no unifying theme among the independents — they may express voter frustration, but they do not represent a coherent force in Virginia politics. Oh well… Maybe the next election cycle, if Groveton and I can figure out how to get a third mainstream party off the ground!
Download the spreadsheet for details on individual candidates.
