Youngkin says big fundraising haul will boost Virginia races

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Donations from business executives, attorneys and corporate interests ranging from real estate to finance helped power Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s main fundraising arm to a record-breaking nearly $2.7 million haul in the year’s first quarter, campaign finance records filed this week show.

Despite being prohibited from seeking donations for much of the January 1-March 31 period because of the legislative session, Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia political action committee surpassed its own prior quarterly record and those of previous governors. The receipts mark a continuation of strong fundraising by Youngkin and will support what his PAC said would be “an unprecedented, data-driven coordinated campaign in 2023 to hold the House and take the Senate.”

“He will continue to raise resources here at home and nationwide to support the 2023 legislative elections; this is just the start,” Spirit of Virginia Chairman Dave Rexrode said in a statement issued earlier this month when the PAC first shared its total receipts.

All 140 General Assembly seats will be on the ballot this year in an election cycle being shaken up by a redistricting process that overhauled Virginia’s electoral maps. The new district lines paired many incumbents together, and the maps are being seen as the primary driver behind a wave of General Assembly retirements and challenges against current officeholders.

The stakes in November will be high for Youngkin, who has seen many of his legislative ambitions stymied by Senate Democrats since taking office in January 2022. If Republicans gained full control of the General Assembly, Youngkin would have far greater latitude to advance his priorities during the final two years of his term.

Youngkin, a political newcomer who has quickly become a closely watched player in the national Republican Party and has not publicly ruled out a 2024 bid for president, announced his first-quarter haul April 5. A fuller accounting, including expenditures, became available after a Monday filing deadline. The deadline also applied to candidates in state and local races, offering an early snapshot of legislative matchups.

According to an accounting by the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonpartisan tracker of money in politics, Democratic Senate candidates have nearly a $5.5 million cash-on-hand advantage over Republicans, although that figure doesn’t account for leadership PACs.