McAuliffe, Youngkin report record summer fundraising hauls in Virginia governor’s race

Virginia gubernatorial candidates Terry McAuliffe (D) and Glenn Youngkin (R) reported record fundraising hauls from July and August as Democrats and Republicans prepare to go all-out in the commonwealth’s off-year statewide elections.

Youngkin led in fundraising, raising a whopping $15.7 million during the period, while McAuliffe raised $11.5 million. But McAuliffe leads in cash on hand, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. McAuliffe reported having $12.6 million in the bank, while Youngkin has roughly $6 million. 

McAuliffe, a seasoned political fundraiser, said his haul came from 60,000 donations from roughly 39,000 individual donors. Additionally, McAuliffe reported no loans from his campaign. 

According to the Virginia Public Access Project, the campaign arm of the Republican Governors Association (RGA) gave close to $4 million to Youngkin during the period, while Youngkin loaned himself $4.5 million. 

The RGA’s Democratic counterpart, the Democratic Governors Association was McAuliffe’s largest donor during the period, giving $2.5 million to his campaign. 

The reports come as the race for the governor’s mansion in Richmond heats up. McAuliffe and Youngkin will face each other on the debate stage for the first time in Grundy, Va., on Thursday. Additionally, early voting kicks off in Virginia on Friday.