Andrew Payton is getting serious money help for his bid to flip the 34th House District seat from red to blue.
Payton, the Democrat challenging MAGA incumbent Tony Wilt, raised $136,491 for his campaign in the July 1-Aug. 31 reporting period, getting $50,000 from the House Democratic Caucus, $10,000 from Secure Progress, a PAC run by House Democrat Dan Helmer, $5,000 from Democratic donor Sonja Smith, and $4,000 from the WinVA PAC.
ICYMI
The numbers are courtesy the Virginia Department of Elections.
Payton actually outraised Wilt in the summer reporting period – Wilt reported $51,221 in campaign fundraising in the period, the biggest single donation coming from the Chicago-based financial-services company Enova.
The 35th, which encompasses the City of Harrisonburg and essentially the northern half of Rockingham County, is as close to a 50/50 district that you will see in our part of Virginia.
Donald Trump won the 34th in 2024 with 52.7 percent of the vote, and Brent Finnegan, the Democratic nominee who challenged Wilt in both the 2017 and 2019 cycles, got 45-plus percent in both campaigns.
ICYMI
Makayla Venable, the Democratic nominee in the 36th House District, which includes the cities of Staunton and Waynesboro, and portions of Augusta County and Rockbridge County, raised a more modest $15,143 for her campaign in the July 1-Aug. 31 reporting period.
The MAGA incumbent, Ellen Campbell, was quiet on the money trail herself – reporting $8,630 in new money in the heat of the summer.
Venable got a $5,000 check from Sonja Smith and $2,000 from WinVA; otherwise, the summer months were an opportunity lost for Democrats, who could get some bang for their bucks here in the 36th, in my view.
The two cities make up about 55 percent of the district, and on the whole will turn out a Democratic majority.
The counties, no doubt, will vote in the area of 70 percent for Campbell, but the cities give the Ds a fighting chance.
Hint, hint.
ICYMI
The other local seat for us is the 35th, which stretches from Rockingham through Augusta into Highland and Bath, across an area bigger than the state of Rhode Island.
Lots of farms, empty spaces – and Republican voters: the district gave Trump a 42-point win over Kamala Harris in 2024.
Democrats are leaving the House nominee in the 35th, Jena Crisler, a doctor who lives in Port Republic, to her own devices.
Crisler brought in $11,523 in new money in July and August, and she’s been able to collect $14,049 for her campaign total in the 2025 cycle.
The MAGA incumbent, Chris Runion, has raised $385,584 in the cycle, and $111,032 in the summer reporting period, the bulk of that being separate checks of $50,000 and $35,000 from Dominion Energy – wonder what they think they’re buying for that kind of money?
Support AFP
Share
Chris Graham
