Politics & Government

Petersen, Howell Out-Raising Opponents In State Senate Races

Incumbent democrats outpace opponents in latest reporting period, have more cash-on-hand.

Incumbents in Vienna/Oakton-area Virginia Senate races out-raised their challengers last month, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, which tracks campaign spending.

With the Nov. 8 general election just seven weeks away, here's a look at where campaign funds stand for Districts 32 and 34.

The amounts listed under each subheading are funds raised by the campaigns from Aug. 11-31, from reports submitted by Sept. 16 by the campaigns.

Find out what's happening in Viennawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

State Senate District 34 Race

  • Democratic incumbent Chap Petersen: $27,549
  • Republican challenger Gerarda Culipher: $4,441

the incumbent in the 34th District, moved even further ahead of Republican contender in the money race to hang onto his seat, according to VPAP.

Find out what's happening in Viennawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

From Aug. 11-31, Petersen raised $27,549 compared to challenger Culipher, who took in $4,441 during the same time period.

As of Aug. 31, Petersen had $278,361 cash on hand, with the largest two contributions of the 2011 election cycle coming from Surovell Isaacs Petersen & Levy PLC ($7,500), Petersen's law firm, and the Democratic Party- Virginia Senate Caucus ($6,078).

Other top donors include

$6,000 Leonard A Bennett (Newport News) $6,000 Elizabeth L Useem (Merion Station, PA) $5,000 AOL Inc (Sterling) $5,000 Nova Datacom LLC (Chantilly) $5,000 Edward Hart Rice (Vienna)

Challenger and Oakton resident Culipher had a total of $19,302 cash on hand as of Aug. 31. 

Culipher's largest contributor is the candidate herself, according to VPAP. She is listed as the top donor, with a contribution of $2,370. Marianne L Horinko, of Chantilly, is the next top donor with a contribution of $2,000.

Others include

$2,000 Christopher W Walker (Reston) $1,500 Peter G Fitzgerald (McLean) $1,500 David Higgins (Clifton) $1,500 Va Rep - Fairfax City (Fairfax) $1,300 Barry Walsh (Longboat, FL)

State Senate District 32 Race

  • Democratic Incumbent Janet Howell: $25,265
  • Republican Challenger Patrick Forrest: $6,149

Incumbent Sen. Janet Howell, who has served in the Virginia Senate since 1992, raised $25,265 from Aug. 11-31 and has $212,874 cash on hand. Republican Patrick Forrest has $28,246 cash on hand.

Top contributions for Howell include $10,000 from Myron P Erkiletian of Alexandria and $7,499 from the Richmond-based Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association.

Other top donors include

$6,674 Democratic Party - Virginia Senate Caucus (Richmond) $5,456 Linden Development (Reston) $5,000 Firefighters - Local 2068 (Fairfax) $5,000 Dario O Marquez, Jr (Vienna) $5,000 Suzann W Matthews (Mc Lean)

In Forrest's campaign, Reston's Christopher W Walker is the top donor with a contribution of $25,250, according to VPAP. The Graham, Wash.-based One Marketing and Research Inc donated $17,500.

Other top donors include

$1,500 Erik Newland (Reston) $1,275 CivicNext Inc (Arlington) $1,000 Frank B Bradley, III (Mechanicsville) $1,000 Patricia del Marvil (McLean) $1,000 Rachael Forrest (Arlington)


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