How have Del. Jennifer Carroll-Foy and State Sen. Jennifer McClellan been doing since they announced their campaigns (on May 27 and June 18, respectively) for the 2021 Virginia Democratic gubernatorial nomination? Here are a few metrics, also comparing money numbers to former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who is widely assumed to be running, but who hasn’t officially announced yet (and probably won’t until after November 3). By the way, at this point I’m assuming that AG Mark Herring won’t be running for governor – even though he’s listed on VPAP as having filed – unless someone tells me otherwise. I’m not sure whether Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, Del. Lee Carter or anyone else will run for governor. Also, I’ll be *very* interested to see how the only announced Republican candidate for governor, far-right State Sen. Amanda Chase, has been doing in terms of fundraising, etc.
MONEY (source: VPAP, campaign press releases)
Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy: I’m not seeing it yet on VPAP, but yesterday, Clean Virginia announced that it was donating $100k to Carroll Foy’s campaign. I’m not seeing any other “Recent Big Donations” on VPAP [note: I’m told that campaigns only need to report large donations around an election, and we’re far from that; PACs, on the other hand, do need to report large contributions], but presumably Carroll Foy is raising money from small-dollar donors, which don’t need to be reported yet.
Sen. Jennifer McClellan: I’m not seeing it yet on VPAP, but yesterday, Clean Virginia announced that it was donating $100k to McClellan’s campaign. Also, while I’m not seeing any other “Recent Big Donations” on VPAP, see below for McClellan’s press release, in which she reports having raised $275,000 in her campaign’s first week (including the $100k from Clean Virginia).
McClellan Campaign Announces $275,000 Raised in First Week
Significant Fundraising, 15 Endorsements, Show Early Momentum for McClellan Campaign
Today, Sen. Jennifer McClellan’s campaign for governor announced that it has raised $275,000 in its first week.
McClellan launched her campaign on Thursday, June 18. By June 25, the campaign had raised $275,000 – with 93% of the money raised coming from Virginia.
Last week, the campaign announced 15 endorsements of Virginia leaders, including four state senators, two delegates, two mayors, two county board members, and other local leaders.
“Virginians have responded strongly to Jennifer McClellan’s vision for an inclusive Virginia that builds a brighter future for all families,” said Courtney McCargo, Finance Director on the McClellan for Governor campaign. “The McClellan campaign is showing strong momentum out of the gate, with major Virginia endorsements and $275,000 raised in just one week. We’re proud of this initial support and will keep building a strong, grassroots organization across Virginia.”
Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe: According to VPAP, McAuliffe’s “Common Good VA” PAC has raised $461,000 in “Recent Big Donations,” including $100k from Howard Kessler, $50k from John Grisham, $25k from Fred Siegel, $25k from MWW Group, $25k from Mark Schuster, $25k from Barbara Fried, $20k from Thomas DePasquale, $16k from Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas, $15k from Sen. Lionell Spruill, $10k from Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, etc.
CAMPAIGN KICKOFF VIDEOS
Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy: Her kickoff video on Twitter, to date, has received 89.3k views, while the tweet itself has been liked 2.8k times and retweeted 1k times [note: this is corrected from the original post, which was looking at this video, which has 36.8k views, 1.1k likes and 507 retweets]. Her kickoff video on Facebook, to date, has received 16.7k views, while the Facebook post itself has been shared 152 times and reacted to (liked/loved mostly) 254 times.
Sen. Jennifer McClellan: Her kickoff video on Twitter, to date, has received 52.4k views, while the tweet itself has been liked 1.2k times and retweeted 670 times. Her kickoff video on Facebook, to date, has received 35.6k views, while the Facebook post itself has been shared 509 times and reacted to (liked/loved mostly) 623 times.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy: Has 15.8k followers on Twitter; 6,190 “likes” on her Facebook page.
Sen. Jennifer McClellan: Has 11.2k followers on Twitter; 4,642 “likes” on her Facebook page.
ENDORSEMENTS
Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy: Announced endorsements from Del. Danica Roem, Del. Joshua Cole, Del. Clint Jenkins, Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler, Prince William County Supervisors Kenny Boddye and Margaret Franklin, and Loudoun County Supervisor Sylvia Glass.
Sen. Jennifer McClellan: Lists 15 endorsements on her website, including State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, State Sen. Jennifer Boysko, State Sen. Mamie Locke, State Sen. Monty Mason, Del. Jeff Bourne, Del. Rodney Willett, etc.
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