The latest campaign finance documents showed Democrat Terry McAuliffe outraising Republican Glenn Youngkin by about $5.5 million last month as both campaigns in the Virginia governor’s race eclipsed fundraising totals from the past five election cycles. This followed GOP nominee Youngkin loaning his campaign millions of dollars over the summer to outraise McAuliffe in both July and August.
Public campaign finance reports compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project confirmed that McAuliffe also outspent Youngkin by roughly $8 million last month. Even after that $17 million spending spree, the Democrat still has more than twice the amount of cash on hand in his campaign account. Recent polls also revealed that McAuliffe’s lead over Youngkin remained within the margin of error. The former governor last month raised roughly $12.6 million compared to Youngkin’s $7 million, bringing the shared “net” cash fundraising total through September to about $88.7 million.
NO CONTEST: Here’s how much @TerryMcAuliffe and @GlennYoungkin had raised thru September, compared to major party candidates in 5 previous races for #Virginia Governor. https://t.co/W2VWYeyjD8 (Note, 3rd party candidate @PrinBlandingVA has raised $30,228) pic.twitter.com/N0utTcqJAj
— Virginia Public Access Project (@vpapupdates) October 18, 2021
During prior elections, reaching back to 2001, total donations ranged from $31.8 million to $49.3 million — nearly $40 million less than this election cycle. WTOP’s Ivy Lyons contributed to this report.