Campaign Spending Patterns in Virginia Statewide Elections
THE CENTER SQUARE — Candidates who spent the most money in Virginia’s statewide elections have usually gone on to win, based on a review of campaign finance records spanning more than two decades.
The review looks at inflation-adjusted spending in races for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general dating back to 2001. It relies on campaign finance reports filed with the Virginia Department of Elections and allows spending levels to be compared across elections over time.
In governor’s races, higher spending has often lined up with winning campaigns. In all but one of the last seven elections, the candidate who spent the most money won. Democrats outspent Republicans in five of those seven races, according to an analysis published by the Virginia Public Access Project.
Spending reached its high point in the 2021 governor’s race. Both major-party nominees posted theirlargest spending totals of the past two decades, with Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe spending about $86 million and Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin roughly $79 million.
https://wydaily.com/latest/2025/12/21/campaign-spending-patterns-in-virginia-statewide-elections/