The Rising of Cost of Competitive Campaigns

13 Janaury 2009

As we enter a pivotal election year, it is instructive to note that Virginia's status as a competitive two-party state is reflected in campaign spending. Virginia FREE provides an in-depth look at the cost of campaigning in Virginia over the years. Following is a brief summary with links to details at http://www.vafree.com/

Statewide Races
Campaign spending in statewide races has skyrocketed. The cost of running for Governor in Virginia has gone from about $10 million in 1997 to about $25 million in 2005, and it is expected to more than double in 2009.
http://www.vafree.com/index.php?page=report_state_spending

General Assembly Campaigns
In state legislative races, spending has soared in recent cycles as the struggle for control of the General Assembly has become more competitive. Spending in House campaigns has jumped from $12 million in 2001 to $32 million in 2007. The average cost of a House campaign has risen in that time from $73,000 to $200,000. Meanwhile, in state Senate races, total spending jumped from $12 million in 1999 to $37 million in 2007, increasing the average cost of a Senate campaign from $186,000 to nearly half a million dollars.
http://www.vafree.com/index.php?page=report_ga_spending

The U.S. Senate
The shift in Virginia's political color scheme from red to purple is evidenced by the past two congressional election cycles. After increasing only slightly through the first three cycles of the decade, spending suddenly exploded in 2006 and 2008. Total spending in each of those two years far exceeded the previous three election cycles combined.
http://www.vafree.com/index.php?page=report_congress_spending

When John Warner was re-elected to a 5th term in the U.S. Senate in 2002, he spent just $2 million against a pair of little-known challengers who mustered combined war chests totaling $125,000.
http://www.vafree.com/index.php?page=report_congress_spending_2002

Four years later, spending for a Virginia seat in the U.S. Senate increased 12-fold as George Allen and Jim Webb spent $25 million, smashing all previous records and introducing Virginia to a new era of big-spending congressional races.
http://www.vafree.com/index.php?page=report_congress_spending_2006

In a far less competitive Senate campaign in 2008, Mark Warner and Jim Gilmore kept the bar pretty high, raising a combined total of $16.5 million.
http://www.vafree.com/index.php?page=report_congress_spending_2008

U.S. House of Representatives
Virginia campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives also have become more competitive and more costly. In 2000 and 2002, incumbents outspent challengers by more than ten to one and were reelected with an average of 75% of the vote. Spending in each of those two election years totaled $10 million for House races. By 2006, the amount doubled to more than $20 million and several credible challengers made respectable showings with war chests exceeding half a million dollars. By 2008 spending reached an unprecedented $27 million as challengers made their most impressive showing in VA congressional races, ousting two incumbent members of the Virginia delegation.
http://www.vafree.com/index.php?page=report_congress_spending