By Kalyn Stralow
(Ballotpedia via The Center Square) Campaign finance requirements govern how much money candidates may receive from individuals and organizations, how often they must report those contributions, and how much individuals, organizations, and political entities may contribute to campaigns.
While campaign finance is not the only factor in electoral outcomes, successful fundraising can provide a candidate with advantages during a campaign. Fundraising can also indicate party momentum.
This article lists top fundraisers in the Virginia House of Delegates, overall and by party. It is based on campaign finance reports that officeholders in and candidates for the House submitted to the Virginia Department of Elections. It includes activity between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021.
The top fundraisers in the Virginia House of Delegates are shown below.
In the Democratic Party, the top fundraisers were:
- Wendy Gooditis – $3,056,085
- Dan Helmer – $1,982,941
- Rodney Willett – $1,838,292
- Elizabeth Guzman – $1,661,830
- Eileen Filler-Corn – $1,494,843
In the Republican Party, the top fundraisers were:
- Tara Durant – $1,120,363
- Jason Ballard – $1,088,694
- Karen Greenhalgh – $1,072,550
- Tim Anderson – $917,634
- H. Otto Wachsmann Jr. – $901,520
Fundraising totals
Overall, Democratic officeholders and candidates raised $28.79 million in this period. Republican officeholders and candidates raised $15.65 million. Combined, all House fundraisers in the January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021, filing period raised $44.44 million.
The five largest Democratic fundraisers were responsible for 35 percent of all Democratic House fundraising. The five largest Republican fundraisers were responsible for 33 percent of all Republican House fundraising.
The table below provides additional data from the campaign finance reports from the top ten fundraisers during this period.
TOP 10 FUNDRAISERS – VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES (January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021)
- Wendy Gooditis
- Democratic Party
- $3,056,085 (raised)
- $2,053,800 (spent)
- Democratic Party
- Dan Helmer
- Democratic Party
- $1,982,941 (raised)
- $1,765,948 (spent)
- Democratic Party
- Rodney Willett
- Democratic Party
- $1,838,292 (raised)
- $1,421,742 (spent)
- Democratic Party
- Elizabeth Guzman
- Democratic Party
- $1,661,830 (raised)
- $1,282,130 (spent)
- Democratic Party
- Eileen Filler-Corn
- Democratic Party
- $1,494,843 (raised)
- $1,361,109 (spent)
- Democratic Party
- Kelly Convirs-Fowler
- Democratic Party
- $1,464,195 (raised)
- $1,150,477 (spent)
- S. Rasoul
- Democratic Party
- $1,426,264 (raised)
- $1,937,141 (spent)
- Briana Sewell
- Democratic Party
- $1,168,376 (raised)
- $882,155 (spent)
- Schuyler VanValkenburg
- Democratic Party
- $1,127,447 (raised)
- $922,697 (spent)
- Tara Durant
- Republican Party
- $1,120,363 (raised)
- $904,739 (spent)
- Republican Party
Campaign finance reporting periods
The data above are based on campaign finance reports that candidate PACs submitted to the Virginia Department of Elections. Candidate PACs represent individuals who have run for state or local office at any point, including past and present officeholders. This article does not include non-candidate PACs. In 2022, Transparency USA will publish campaign finance data after the following major reporting deadlines. State or federal law may require filers to submit additional reports.
- Report Name Report Due Date
- 2022 Jan Semiannual 1/15/2022
- 2022 Jul Semiannual (and Post-Primary) 7/15/2022
- 2023 Jan Semiannual 1/15/2023
This article is a joint publication from Ballotpedia and Transparency USA, who are working together to provide campaign finance information for state-level elections.
Tyler Arnold reports on Virginia and West Virginia for The Center Square. He previously worked for the Cause of Action Institute and has been published in Business Insider, USA TODAY College, National Review Online and the Washington Free Beacon.
