Let’s put the $4.2 million that Terry McAuliffe raised for his gubernatorial campaign in the first three months of 2009 in perspective. Mark Warner, the Big Kahuna, raised $1.4 million for his gubernatorial campaign in the first quarter of 2001. To be fair, Warner was a Democrat in what was then a Republican state, so that was actually quite impressive in terms of a campaign warchest. Tim Kaine in ’05 raised $2.6 million in the first quarter on his way to amassing a cash stockpile of $20.6 million all told that year.
This is easily a record-breaking election money-wise if McAuliffe gets the nod and runs to the finish line in November.
“We are thrilled with the grassroots and fundraising support we have received over the last few months,” McAuliffe campaign manager Mike Henry said. “Virginians are looking for a governor who will continue the Warner-Kaine tradition of leadership and bring both business and executive experience to Richmond. Terry’s decades of experience creating jobs and turning around struggling businesses, as well as his detailed plans to get Virginia’s economy back on track, have resonated with Virginia voters.”
The McAuliffe Money Machine could have an impact on the chances of Democrats to win back a majority in the House of Delegates. McAuliffe told me back in December and has reiterated since that he would consider it his duty as the party’s gubernatorial standard-bearer to make sure that Democratic Party House candidates across the Commonwealth had access to campaign funding. How that would play out with the four Democrats challenging Republican incumbents in the Central Shenandoah Valley would remain to be seen.
– Story by Chris Graham
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