Virginia Governor’s Race Sees Rise in New Donors

As the final stretch of the race to Richmond approaches, the Virginia gubernatorial campaigns are seeing a rise in new donors. The governor’s race has attracted more first-time donors than a Virginia gubernatorial election has seen since 2013. 

Sixty-three percent of Republican nominee Winsome Earle-Sears’ donors are new. She has attracted almost four times the number of new donors compared with Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the successful Republican nominee in 2021, who she is seeking to succeed. Earle-Sears is the current lieutenant governor.

The Virginia Public Access Project identifies new donors as people who had not previously given to a Virginia state candidate or political action committee. The Virginia Public Access Project is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that provides insights into Virginia elections and campaign finances. The group released new fundraising data this week highlighting the rise of new donors, as of Aug. 31, in this off-off-year election season. 

A grassroots effort translates to Earle-Sears also having the largest percentage of small donors. Nineteen percent of her donors are small-cash contributors, everyday Virginians donating anywhere from $5 to $100. By comparison, 12% of contributions to the campaign of Democrat nominee Abigail Spanberger are small donations.

John Reid, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, also has a higher percentage (12%) of small-dollar donors than his opponent, Democrat state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (6%). 

Spanberger has raised more money overall and has more total donors than Earle-Sears. Spanberger also has a higher percentage of donors classified as partisans and who support a single interest, such as labor unions and groups focused on social or ideological issues.

All three statewide Democrat candidates, including in the race for state attorney general, are leading fundraising among single-issue donors. 

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