Report: Both GOP, Dem candidates in 82nd House race get major fund boosts in election runup

Bill Atkinson, Petersburg Progress-Index
·3 min read
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PETERSBURG – With less than one week away from Election Day, candidates in the uber-competitive 82nd House of Delegates District race racked up a combined $1.9 million in campaign contributions, proving just how high-stakes the race is over which party gets the upper hand in the chamber.

The latest Department of Elections records show that between Oct. 1-26, Democrat Kimberly Pope Adams raised $1,035,447 in her bid to unseat Republican Kim Taylor. That put Adams at No. 5 on the list of House candidates who raised the most money for the month.

Taylor, bidding for a second two-year term, did not do too shabby, either. She raised $906,005 for the month, good enough for ninth place on that list.

Taylor also ranked second among Republican incumbents raising funds for the month, about $40,000 behind Del. Karen Greenhalgh of Virginia Beach. Taylor and Greenhalgh are the only two incumbents among the top 10.

The contribution gap between Taylor and Adams, though, is much smaller than what her fellow Republicans in the top 10 face in their races.

Greenhalgh trails Democratic opponent Michael Feegans by more than $500,000 in the Virginia Beach contest. Lee Peters, at No. 10 on the list, was outdonated more than 2-to-1 by Democrat Joshua Cole in a district that includes Fredericksburg. The elections department report puts Cole at the top of the list with slightly more than $2 million.

The 82nd House District stretches from eastern Dinwiddie County to Surry County, and includes Petersburg and most of Prince George County. The nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project ranks it as the most competitive of all the House races based upon past party performances.

For example, 82nd District voters favored Republican Glenn Youngkin in the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial campaign but voted for the Democratic candidate in the 2022 congressional mid-term elections. When VPAP put those two elections together, 0.5% separates them.

The closest competitive race is 0.8% in Prince William County, an open seat.

Republican Del. Kimberly Taylor, left, is being challenged by Democratic nominee Kimberly Pope Adams in the November election for the Virginia House of Delegates 82nd District.
Republican Del. Kimberly Taylor, left, is being challenged by Democratic nominee Kimberly Pope Adams in the November election for the Virginia House of Delegates 82nd District.

Adams’ biggest donors during the month were $350,000 from the Virginia House Democratic Caucus and $100,000 from the utility watchdog group Clean Virginia Fund. She also recorded 3,476 donations of $100 or less.

For October, Taylor's largest donations were $256,000 from Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia political action committee and $145,000 from the House Republican Campaign Committee. She also raised almost $900 through 16 donations of $100 or less.

Overall for the election, Adams has outraised Taylor $2.7 million to $2.4 million, and has more than four times the amount of cash in the campaign coffers.

Senate side: Same-old same-old

On the state Senate side, former Petersburg delegate Lashrecse Aird remains the overwhelming frontrunner to win the seat she defeated incumbent Joe Morrissey for in last June’s 13th Senate District Democratic primary. The 13th, which runs from eastern Dinwiddie County to eastern Henrico County and includes Petersburg, Hopewell and Prince George County, is considered a solid Democratic district based on its seven-year voting record.

Republican Eric Ditri and Democrat Lashrecse Aird are vying for the 13th Senate District seat.
Republican Eric Ditri and Democrat Lashrecse Aird are vying for the 13th Senate District seat.

For the month of October, Aird raised $118,941, almost eight times that of Republican Eric Ditri and his $15,164. Ditri’s two biggest donors of the month were Petersburg Overstock LLC and the campaign committee for Republican Sen. Bill DeSteph of Virginia Beach with $2,500 each.

Aird received top donations in October of $5,000 from businessperson Bhavin Patel and $2,500 from the Democratic-backing group Vote Mama.

Overall, Aird’s campaign (including her successful primary bid) has raised $2.6 million to Ditri’s $60,700.

More: 2023 Election Results for Petersburg, Hopewell, Dinwiddie, Chesterfield, Colonial Heights

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Candidates in 82nd House race raise $2 million in final month