Democrats outraising Republicans in House races

Johnson City Press: Democrats outraising Republicans in House races

Democrats are outraising Republicans in the race for seats in the Virginia House of Delegates representing Prince William County.

Campaign finance reports were released last week covering activity from May 28 to June 30, including five primary contests.

In four of the five local primaries, the winning candidates spent less than their closest competitor. 

All 100 seats in the House of Delegates are up for grabs in November. Democratic nominees outraised their Republican opponents in each of the eight districts that include some portion of Prince William County.

Meanwhile local Democratic Del. Hala Ayala is leading in fundraising in the lieutenant governor’s race.

2nd District

The most expensive primary was in the 2nd District, which covers eastern Prince William, including Belmont Bay, Potomac Shores, Quantico and northern portions of Stafford County. 

Incumbent Democratic Del. Candi King, who won a special election for the seat in January, fended off challenger Pamela Montgomery in a primary that drew nearly $1.9 million in spending.   Montgomery spent the most in the primary. 

King will face Republican Gina Ciarcia in the general election and has raised significantly more money.

During the reporting period, King brought in $249,103, boosted by several high-dollar donations. She received $95,000 from the House Democratic Caucus and $75,000 from the Virginia State Legislative Black Caucus. She also received $10,000 each from Energized for Change PAC and Dels. Charniele Herring, D-Fairfax, and Dolores McQuinn, D-Richmond. 

Other contributions to King included $5,000 each from the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, Virginia First PAC and SEIU COPE. Other large donations were $2,500 from Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw and $2,000 from labor union AFSCME. 

King spent $263,941 and has $54,684 remaining. 

Ciarcia raised $9,441. She received $1,000 each from John Mosser of Leander, Texas, and Regina Piazza of Destin, Fla. Prince William Supervisor Jeanine Lawson, R-Brentsville, contributed $500.

Ciarcia spent $5,676 and has $9,148 remaining.

13th District

Democratic Del. Danica Roem is being challenged by Republican Christopher Stone in the 13th District. The seat represents Manassas Park and nearby parts of Prince William County, including Gainesville and Haymarket.

Roem is far ahead in the money game, bringing in $39,582 in the reporting period. Her biggest donation was $2,500 from Weston Milliken, one of the sons of South Carolina textile billionaire Roger Milliken.

She also received $2,000 from WinVA and $1,000 each from Emily’s List, California computer scientist Barbara Simons and Cragg Hines, a former Washington correspondent for the Houston Chronicle.

Roem spent $27,449 and has $126,493 remaining. 

Stone raised $4,666 and did not have any large donations. He spent $5,181 and has $3,877 remaining.

31st District

Incumbent Democratic Del. Elizabeth Guzman prevailed in a four-way primary for the 31st District, which includes portions of southeastern Prince William, including Montclair and Independent Hill, plus parts of northern and eastern Fauquier County.

She was the lone local primary winner to outspend her closest opponent.

Guzman raised $107,208 in the reporting period. She received $20,000 from Charlottesville area donor Sonjia Smith, $5,000 from North Carolina developer Hunter Bourne, $3,000 from Janice Brody, co-founder of a California education foundation, and $2,500 from Emily’s list. 

Guzman spent $93,551 and has $128,356 remaining.

Rod Hall, who finished second in the primary, spent $236,845 in the race. Kara Pitek spent $54,793, and Idris O’Connor spent $16,329.

Guzman will face Republican Ben Baldwin in the November election. Baldwin raised $27,740 in the reporting period.

He was boosted by $5,000 each from the Republican State Legislative Caucus and Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, the House of Delegates minority leader. He also received $2,500 each from Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott, and New Mission Commonwealth PAC and $2,000 from Main Street Virginia PAC. Lawson also contributed $500.

Baldwin spent $9,299 and has $53,328 remaining.

50th District

Democrat Michelle Maldonado ousted incumbent Del. Lee Carter, D-Manassas, in the primary for the 50th District, which covers Manassas and the Linton Hall area of Prince William County. 

Maldonado raised $31,910 in the reporting period. 

Her big donations included $10,000 from Energized for Change PAC, $5,000 from Prince William Supervisor Victor Angry, D-Neabsco, and $4,500 from the House Democratic Caucus. She also received $2,500 each from state Sen. Jeremy McPike and Richmond law firm Allen, Allen, Allen and Allen.

Carter spent $100,460 in the primary, while the third contender, Helen Zurita, spent $6,903.

Maldonado will face Republican Steve Pleickhardt in the November election.

Pleickhardt prevailed over Mike Allers Jr. in the GOP firehouse primary despite being significantly outspent. He dished out only $10,408 to Allers’ $56,710.

During the reporting period, Pleickhardt raised $3,485, primarily through a $3,000 donation by Virginia Wins PAC. He spent $3,569 and has $1,511 remaining.

51st District

The only open seat locally is in the 51st District, which covers the Lake Ridge, Woodbine, Bristow and Nokesville areas of Prince William.  The seat is open after Ayala decided to forgo re-election to focus on her run for lieutenant governor. 

Democrat Briana Sewell far outraised her Republican opponent in the reporting period with $74,074.

Sewell’s biggest donation was $10,000 from Energized for Change PAC. She received $3,000 from AFSCME labor union, $2,237 from California real estate investor Sheila Brutoco Young and $2,130 from Alexis Panzer of San Francisco.

She also received smaller donations from Prince William supervisors Margaret Franklin, D-Woodbridge, Andrea Bailey, D-Potomac, and Kenny Boddye, D-Occoquan; School Board member Lillie Jessie; Sen. George Baker, D-Alexandria, and Maria Burgos, the county’s equity and inclusion officer.

Sewell will face Republican Tim Cox, who prevailed over Jeff Dove in the GOP primary. 

Briana Sewell is seeking the 51st District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates in the November 2021 election.

Cox raised $10,380 in the reporting period. He was boosted by $1,000 each from former Occoquan Supervisor Ruth Anderson and Donald Sampson of Manassas. Lawson also chipped in $500.

Cox spent $13,256 in the primary to Dove’s $21,396. Cox has $10,381 remaining.

Ayala, meanwhile, is outraising her opponent in her statewide race. Ayala raised $512,802 in the reporting period. She spent $214,638 and has $376,169 remaining.

Ayala will face Republican Winsome Sears in the November election. Sears raised $232,392, spent $151,229 and has $214,328 remaining.

Other House races

Democrats are also outraising their opponents in three other seats covering parts of Prince William.

In the 40th District, which represents parts of northwestern Prince William and Fairfax County, incumbent Del. Daniel Helmer outraised Republican Harold Pyon. Helmer raised $94,814, spent $37,078 and has $300,746 remaining. Pyon raised $64,007, spent $37,352 and has $197,878 remaining.

In the 52nd District, which includes Dumfries and Dale City, incumbent Democrat Luke Torian raised $51,902, spent $26,378 and has $577,738 in his campaign war chest. His Republican challenger, Maria Martin, raised $4,442, spent $4,579 and has $4,494 remaining.

In the 87th District, which covers a small portion of western Prince William and parts of Loudoun County, incumbent Del. Suhas Subramanyam outraised Republican challenger Greg Moulthrop. Subramanyam received $13,757, spent $5,713 and has $82,660 remaining. Moulthrop raised $1,755, spent $1,582 and has $1,182 remaining.