Out-of-state cash pours into Va. race [Virginian – Pilot]

By Bill Sizemore | The Virginian-Pilot

To Virginians, who've been barraged for months by a relentless war of political advertising, it will come as no surprise that big bucks have been pouring into the campaigns for the statewide election Nov. 5.

Big money in politics is nothing new. But a close look at this year's campaign spending reveals some unprecedented patterns.

First is the sheer volume of money being spent.

At this point in his campaign four years ago, Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell had raised $14.5 million. This year's Republican candidate for governor, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, is ahead of that mark at $16.8 million, according to an analysis of finance reports by the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonprofit tracker of campaign spending.

Yet Cuccinelli's war chest is dwarfed by that of his Democratic opponent, Terry McAuliffe, a man who built a national reputation as a prodigious fundraiser for Bill Clinton and the Democratic National Committee. He's pulled in $26.3 million.

Based on the 2009 voter turnout, that means the two candidates together have spent upward of $22 per voter so far this year. And there's one more week to go.

Virginia allows candidates to rake in unlimited campaign contributions as long as the donors are disclosed.

But perhaps more striking than the jaw-dropping amounts of campaign cash is where it's coming from.

No candidate for governor in Virginia history has received less than half of his contributions from Virginia donors - until this year. Cuccinelli has received only 35 percent of his money from within the state, according to VPAP's analysis, and McAuliffe even less - 28 percent.

That reflects the extent to which the Cuccinelli-McAuliffe battle has become a proxy for today's polarized national political climate. As the only competitive governor's race in the country this year, the matchup has been drawing national media attention and tapping gushers of cash from national party organizations and interest groups of every stripe.

For those groups, it's a warmup for the coming struggles to tip the partisan balance in Congress next year and, beyond that, the 2016 presidential race.

About 43 cents of every $1 collected by Cuccinelli has come from the Republican Governors Association, and nearly one-quarter of McAuliffe's cash has come from the Democratic Governors Association.

National single-issue groups are also pouring money into the campaigns, especially McAuliffe's.

The Democrat has received $2.4 million from organized labor, another $2.4 million from environmental groups, and $1.2 million from Planned Parenthood.

The cascade of cash is an election-year boon for broadcasters.

The final price tag for dozens of ads that since late April have flooded Virginia's four main media markets - Hampton Roads, Washington, Richmond and Roanoke - is likely to exceed $28 million, according to VPAP's analysis.

McAuliffe and his allies have outspent the Cuccinelli forces on the airwaves, a trend particularly noticeable in recent weeks as the Republican's investment in airtime has dwindled.

Some interest groups bypass the campaigns and pay for their own ads supporting or - more often - opposing a candidate. Among those are the National Rifle Association, which has spent $442,000 bashing McAuliffe as a threat to gun owners. On the other side of that issue, Americans for Responsible Solutions, a group formed by former Congresswoman and gunshot victim Gabrielle Giffords and her astronaut husband, has spent $132,000 on a direct-mail campaign attacking Cuccinelli as too gun-friendly.

A new Virginia Beach-based group, Common Sense Virginia, made a $486,000 anti-McAuliffe TV ad buy a week ago. The group's chairman, David Nygaard of David Nygaard Fine Jewelers, said the money came from like-minded conservative business people, many from outside Virginia.

Citizens United, the conservative group that won a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2010 loosening restrictions on third- party spending, has spent $76,000 supporting Cuccinelli and opposing McAuliffe.

Among business donors, McAuliffe is out-raising Cuccinelli in many sectors: law, technology and communications, retail and services, finance and insurance, real estate and construction, health care and agriculture. Cuccinelli has the edge in energy and natural resources, manufacturing, defense and transportation.

The two candidates have also attracted high-dollar contributions from individual donors.

McAuliffe has bankrolled his own campaign to the tune of nearly $300,000. He has received $250,000 each from Robert Johnson, co- founder of Black Entertainment Television; Peter Angelos, majority owner of the Baltimore Orioles; J.B. Pritzker, a Chicago venture capitalist; and Haim Saban, a California media mogul best known for creating the "Power Rangers" children's TV series.

Probably McAuliffe's best known individual benefactor is Bill Clinton. The former president chipped in $100,000.

Cuccinelli has hauled in gifts from some well-known contributors to national conservative causes, including $150,000 from Wisconsin industrialist Richard Uih-lein and $85,000 from David Koch and his Kansas-based energy company, Koch Industries.

Libertarian Robert Sarvis, the third man on the ballot, barely registers a blip in the campaign money chase. He's raised less than $100,000.

One notable local donor who has been a generous backer of Republicans in past Virginia elections appears so far to be sitting out the governor's race. Virginia Beach televangelist Pat Robertson, who gave McDonnell $25,000 in 2009, has given nothing to Cuccinelli.

Pilot writer Julian Walker contributed to this report.

Bill Sizemore, 757-446-2276,

[email protected]

Sunday

some donations

McAuliffe has received $250,000 from Robert Johnson, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television. Cuccinelli was given $150,000 by Wisconsin industrialist Richard Uih-lein.

2013 voter guide inside

campaigns and cash

Ken Cuccinelli has raised $16.8 million, and Democratic opponent Terry McAuliffe has pulled in $26.3 million. Cuccinelli has collected just 35 percent from within the state, and McAuliffe evenless: 28 percent.

what doesit mean?

For those groups supporting them, it's a warmup for the coming struggles to tip the partisan balance in Congress next year and, beyond that, the 2016 presidential race.

- online

For details of candidates' finances, see www.vpap.org.