The next step in the Third District is going to be getting Dan Bowling, the Democratic candidate, adequate funding. Even though this will be a short campaign, elections usually come down to money these days. Since this one will be a short campaign, fundraising will be even more difficult than usual. Not that long ago, Southwest Virginia witnessed a better candidate still lose the race. Eric Ferguson, the Ninth District challenger, should have beat Allen Dudley by a few percentage points. Instead, he lost and a key area they were lacking in was campaign financing.
The Roanoke Times had this:
Ferguson and his staff said the campaign also suffered a lack of financial support, though there is some disagreement as to the cause. [Campaign manger, Joe] Stanley tends to blame Gov. Mark Warner's One Virginia PAC, while [Mudcat] Saunders said the fault belongs not to Warner but to the House Democratic Caucus. Although both groups contributed to the campaign, the campaign said it wasn't enough.. . .
The House Democratic Caucus contributed $6,000 to Ferguson's campaign, but it gave other candidates much more. Greg Werkheiser, a Democratic challenger in the 42nd House district who ultimately lost his election, received $30,793.
The Caucus, hopefully, will come through with solid funding for Bowling down here in the Third District and we can keep this seat in the Democratic column. With the Ferguson loss still stinging, we (Democrats, Virginians, and especially Southwest Virginia Democrats) cannot afford to let another race go under-funded and lose by just a few hundred votes.
I will post an update to this post and bump it back up once his site (with donation capability) is available.