Democratic candidates maintain cash-on-hand advantages in two of three significant Northern Virginia races for the U.S. House of Representatives.
With Election Day looming on Nov. 5, the financial margin is closest in the 10th District, where Democrat and current state Sen. Suhas Subramanyam held a robust but not overwhelming cash-on-hand lead at the start of October over Republican Mike Clancy, a lawyer, according to the latest figures from the Federal Election Commission as reported by the Virginia Public Access Project.
For the quarterly filing period ending Sept. 30, Subramanyam’s campaign coffers had $674,396 compared to Clancy’s $563,699. During the 2023-24 campaign cycle, Subramanyam has raised a total of $2.47 million, while Clancy has $1.03 million.
Clancy’s total includes cumulative loans of $650,000 from the candidate to his campaign.
For the third quarter, the Subramanyam campaign reported taking in $1.17 million and spending $653,241. Clancy’s campaign reported $611,154 in receipts, including a $400,000 loan from the candidate, and $427,364 in expenditures.
The contenders are seeking to fill the seat of Democrat Jennifer Wexton, who is retiring due to health concerns. Concentrated in Loudoun and Prince William counties, the 10th District includes portions of southwestern Fairfax County, but lost many Fairfax precincts through redistricting following the 2020 federal census.
In recent interviews with WUSA9, Clancy said the race in the 10th District remains a toss-up, while Subramanyam said he’s working to win over moderate voters with a bipartisan message.
Wexton won a third term in 2022, defeating Republican Hung Cao with 53% of the vote, and many political prognosticators have put the district in the “safe Democratic” category for 2024.
Cao in 2024 is the Republican challenger to U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia). Depending on the political scorecard being used, the expected result is graded from likely Democratic to safely Democratic.
Elsewhere in Northern Virginia, incumbents Gerry Connolly in the 11th District and Don Beyer in the 8th District are seeking to fend off challenges in what largely have been Democratic strongholds. In both cases, campaign-cash data reflect the power of incumbency and Democratic dominance.
In the 11th District, Connolly had a war chest of $3.6 million on hand, as of Sept. 30. Republican Mike Van Meter had just $13,664, according to federal data. Durng the 2023-24 campaign cycle, the Connolly campaign has raised $2.3 million, dwarfing Van Meter’s just under $50,000.
The district includes most of central and western Fairfax County as well as the City of Fairfax. First elected to Congress in 2008, Connolly is looking for his ninth term in office after easily beating back a June primary challenge launched by Ahsan Nasar.
In the 8th District, Beyer, who was first elected to Congress in 2014, had about $555,000 on hand as of Sept. 30, having raised $1.8 million during the cycle. Per campaign filings, Republican Jerry Torres both raised and spent $264,439, with no cash on hand, while independent David Kennedy had $614 on hand, having raised $16,270, and independent Bentley Hensel had $38 on hand, having raised $17,453.
The 8th District includes parts of eastern Fairfax County, including McLean, Annandale, Bailey’s Crossroads and Lincolnia, as well as all of Arlington County and the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church. Beyer didn’t face a 2024 primary challenge.
The next campaign finance filing deadline for congressional candidates is today (Oct. 24), covering the Oct. 1-15 period.
Map via Virginia Department of Elections
