So much for Virginia Republicans holding a financial advantage pretty much anywhere this year. According to this Washington Post article, Tim Kaine is a super money machine:
Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine is on a week-long tour to raise money for Democratic candidates in the Nov. 6 elections as he tries to help the party pick up the four seats needed to regain control of the state Senate.Kaine (D), who says a Democratic majority would help him advance his agenda, has cleared much of his public schedule this week so he can attend fundraisers and call candidates and donors.
Kaine also is gearing up for a major fundraiser next week in Pentagon City that is expected to raise $1 million for his political action committee, Moving Virginia Forward.
Kaine's fundraising prowess -- along with Mark Warner, the House and Senate Democratic caucuses, and (as PBS says) "people like you" -- means that Democrats should be financially competitive everywhere they want to be this year. For instance, the Democratic Senate caucus has pledged to do whatever it takes to ensure that Janet Oleszek is financially competitive with Ken Cuccinelli. I love this contrast in the Post article:
...even as political action committees are helping Cuccinelli and others, Kaine could soon start pumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into the races of individual Democratic candidates.
In general, I find it very telling that Republicans are relying on PACs, the alcohol (beer, wine, you name it) industry, and industries that heavily employ illegal immigrants to fund their campaigns. But despite all that, they're still losing the money race to the Democrats. Looks like we've got the energy on our side this year; now we just have to keep it up for 48 more days and seal the deal on election day.
Thank you, Lowell.