Mark Obenshain, the Republican nominee for attorney general, reported $1.3 million in donations between Thursday and Monday, as Ken Cuccinelli, the party’s candidate for governor, reported $147,000 in contributions, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
It marked the first time that a down-ticket candidate had outraised the party’s candidate for governor in the first five days of pre-election reporting, according to VPAP, a nonpartisan tracker of money in state politics.
In the campaign’s final two weeks, statewide candidates must report contributions of $5,000 or more by the next business day.
Obenshain’s largest contribution during that stretch came from the Republican State Leadership Committee, which gave him $760,000 in two different donations. The Washington-based organization works to elect Republicans in down-ticket contests around the country.
Wednesday evening brought another reflection of Democrat Terry McAuliffe’s fundraising dominance. In large donations reported Wednesday alone, the Democratic nominee for governor took in $510,373 to Cuccinelli’s $12,237.
Andrew Cain and Olympia Meola
Mark Obenshain
