Democratic National Committee hikes spending on New Jersey, Virginia races

Audio By Carbonatix

Enlarge

By Joseph Ax

(Reuters) -The Democratic National Committee pledged an additional $500,000 for get-out-the-vote operations in the New Jersey and Virginia governor’s races, as well as judicial races in Pennsylvania, adding to its multimillion-dollar investment in the November 4 contests as Democrats seek momentum going into next year’s congressional elections.

Tuesday’s announcement, shared with Reuters ahead of its release, brings the committee’s total outlay in the three states to more than $6 million for the November 4 election.

New Jersey and Virginia are the only U.S. states to hold gubernatorial elections in the years after presidential contests, and the outcomes are often viewed as an early referendum on the president’s first year in office.

The close-fought New Jersey race between Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli, in particular, has drawn the attention of both national parties.

While the state has voted Democratic in every presidential election since 1992, it has shifted toward Republicans in recent years; President Donald Trump came within six percentage points of winning last year, and Democratic Governor Phil Murphy beat Ciattarelli in 2021 by only 3 percentage points.

Sherrill has led the race since the primary election, but recent public polls have shown Ciattarelli narrowing the gap. A Quinnipiac University poll released on October 15 found Sherrill winning among likely voters, 50% to 44%.

Both parties have poured money into the race, already the most expensive in state history. A political action committee tied to the Democratic Governors Association has announced more than $20 million, while two pro-Ciattarelli groups, including one backed by the Republican Governors Association, have raised at least $13 million, according to campaign finance filings.

In Virginia, Democratic nominee Abigail Spanberger has led by around 10 points in recent surveys from highly rated pollsters, according to a tracker from the New York Times, over Republican Winsome Earle-Sears. Like Murphy in New Jersey, the state’s incumbent governor, Republican Glenn Youngkin, is barred from running for re-election due to term limits.

In Pennsylvania, three members of the state Supreme Court’s liberal 5-2 majority are running in what is known as a “retention” election, which means they do not have opponents. Instead, voters decide whether to re-elect them for another 10-year term.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax, editing by Deepa Babington)