Four General Assembly seats representing the Greater Williamsburg area are up for grabs in November’s election, but only one of them has attracted notable financial contributions from both Republicans and Democrats.
That seat represents the 93rd District in the House of Delegates. Republican challenger Lara Overy seeks to unseat incumbent Democrat Monty Mason, who is vying for second term in office.
Each candidate raised thousands of dollars in the first three months of 2015, according to campaign finance reports analyzed by the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project. The 93rd District includes the City of Williamsburg, the Grove and Jamestown areas of James City County and parts of Edgehill and Kiln Creek in York County.
The Republican challenger leads the fundraising race for the reporting period between Jan. 1 and March 31, during which she raised $51,463. Find a complete list of all of Overy’s donors here.
Mason, who is in his first term, has raised $27,106 during the reporting period. A complete list of his donors is available here.
Though Overy raised nearly twice as much money as Mason during the first three months of 2015, she began the year with nothing while Mason started with $30,377 on hand. That discrepancy left Mason with $45,240 on hand heading into April compared to Overy’s $34,811.
Both candidates have been spending money on their campaigns: Overy’s largest expenditures include $6,000 on staff and political consultants, $1,891 on events and catering and $1,800 on rent and utilities for her campaign office. Mason’s largest expenditures include $6,233 for postage and printing, $3,000 on donations and $640 for voter lists.
The other races for seats representing the greater Williamsburg area have had much less activity.
Of the other three contests for seats in and around Williamsburg, two are one-candidate races featuring incumbents — Republican Brenda Pogge in the 96th District of the House of Delegates and state Sen. Tommy Norment in the third district of the Senate of Virginia.
The other contest is between incumbent Democrat John Miller and Republican challenger Mark Matney for the first district in the Senate of Virginia. Matney has raised a total of $50 for the reporting period between Jan. 1 and March 31, while Miller has picked up $8,755 in that time. A donor list for Matney is available here, while one for Miller can be seen here.
The two are vying for a senatorial seat representing the City of Williamsburg and parts of Grove in James City County, Magruder in York County, much of Newport News and part of Portsmouth.
Matney has not spent his $50 as of March 31. Miller, who has held the seat since 2008, began 2015 with $66,941 in his campaign coffers.
Pogge began the year with $11,016 cash on hand and has raised an additional $3,634 in the reporting period. Her donor list is available here. She has spent $8,985 in that time, with the largest expenditures being $2,500 in donations, $1,036 for printing and postage and $1,000 for contributions to other candidates.
She has held the 96th District seat since 2007. The seat represents all of James City County but Grove and Jamestown along with Upper York County, Seaford, Yorktown and Dare.
Norment, who has been in office since 1992, started the year with $889,971 on hand. He raised $27,056 in the first three months of the year. Find his complete donor list here.
He has spent $39,624 during that time, with his largest expenditures being $11,310 on postage and printing, $7,000 going to other campaigns and $5,218 for staff and political consultants. He began April 1 with $877,304 cash on hand. Find his complete donor list here.
The third senatorial district includes all of James City County but a small part of Grove along with Upper York County and all of Poquoson and King William, King and Queen, Gloucester and New Kent counties. It also includes parts of Hampton, Suffolk and parts of York, Surry and Isle of Wight counties.
A small part of York County is represented by other districts. Incumbent Republican Gordon Helsel is running unopposed for the 91st House District, which includes Tabb, Coventry and Bethel. He raised $1,000 during the reporting period to go along with the $47,745 he had at the start of 2015. His complete donor list can be seen here.
The second senatorial district also encompasses a small part of York County. That seat is represented by incumbent Democrat Mamie Locke, who is running unopposed. She began the year with $56,685 on hand and has raised $300 in the reporting period. Her complete donor list is available here.
The election will take place on Nov. 3. Find out who is on your ballot by clicking here.