RICHMOND — Republican strategist Ed Gillespie raised $749,000 within five months for his 2017 bid for Virginia governor, bringing in money at a clip comparable to that set by the last two GOP contenders for the job.
Gillespie, who confirmed that he was running for governor in early October and formed a political action committee in November, concluded the first quarter of 2016 with $616,000 on hand, according to financial information that his campaign released to The Washington Post on Friday.
Although on par with that of recent Republican hopefuls, Gillespie’s early fundraising is well behind the $1.2 million that Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) brought in during the opening six-month stretch of his 2013 bid.
But McAuliffe got his fundraising operation rolling much closer to the start of that election, in the latter half of 2012, with most of the money coming in at the end of the year.
Gillespie’s sum represents money he started collecting in November, a full two years ahead of the 2017 election.
Less clear is how Gillespie’s recent haul stacks up against that of Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D), currently the only Democrat running to succeed the term-limited McAuliffe. Northam is primarily raising money through a campaign account, which only has to report finances every six months in a non-election year. His next campaign finance report, covering the first six months of this year, is due in July.
Gillespie is raising money through a political action committee, which must report quarterly. His next report is due next week.
Over 2015, Northam raised about $1 million, $661,000 of it through his campaign account and $344,000 through his Stronger Together PAC. Between the two accounts, he ended the year with $720,000 in the bank.
Northam, a pediatric neurologist and former state senator, has been unable to add to the bottom line for most of this year. As an elected official who presides over the state Senate, Northam was prohibited from raising funds during the 60-day legislative session that concluded in March.
Northam’s campaign manager, Brad Komar, provided a summary of the Democrat’s most recent campaign finance reports but declined to comment.
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