Webb Makes Fundraising Gains in Va. Race

Virginia Senate Democratic candidate Jim Webb, right, answers questions during a news conference with Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., in Alexandria, Va., on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf) (Kevin Wolf - AP)

RICHMOND, Va. -- Democratic Senate candidate Jim Webb raised $3.5 million the past three months, the first substantial cash infusion into his campaign, while Republican incumbent Sen. George Allen did not provide in advance the fundraising figures for the period.

Webb's campaign said Wednesday it will report in its quarterly Federal Election Commission filing that the contributions came from 20,000 donors.

That brings the total for Webb's campaign to about $4.6 million. Webb's campaign finished September with $2.7 million on hand as the deadlocked race heads into its decisive and expensive final five weeks.

Allen campaign spokesman Dick Wadhams declined to release Allen's fundraising totals for the period, saying the campaign would do so when it files its FEC report in mid-October.

Webb's total is less than half the $10.4 million Allen reported as of June 30. Allen had about $6.6 million on hand at that time but spent $2.1 million on television advertising in September.

George Mason University political science professor Mark Rozell said that while Webb's campaign coffers have grown, the gains fall short of what he will need to compete with Allen's televised advertising.

"It's not enough, and it's actually a little disappointing for him, I think, given that this race is in the competitive column and knowing that it could be the difference between one party controlling the U.S. Senate or not," Rozell said.

Steve Jarding, a Webb strategist, disputed Rozell's assessment, saying Webb's third-quarter collections would be among the best of any Democratic Senate candidate, and that Allen's cash advantage is less formidable because the race has tightened.

Allen held a 16 percentage-point lead over Webb in July, when the race was viewed as little more than a warm-up for Allen leading to a potential 2008 presidential bid.

The lead has evaporated since August, however, when Allen referred to a man of Indian descent as "macaca," which some consider a racial slur. A statewide poll by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. released Friday showed the two candidates tied.

Also Wednesday, a campaign staffer for Virginia Democratic congressional candidate Al Weed resigned after sending an e-mail to supporters that used vulgar language and poked fun at Allen, said campaign spokesman Curt Gleeson. Weed is challenging incumbent Rep. Virgil Goode.

In the message, staffer Meryl Ibis referred to Allen as "George 'Macacawitz' Allen," combining the word "macaca" and Allen's recently uncovered Jewish heritage.

"A young field staffer made an error in judgment, and we immediately accepted her resignation," Weed said in a written statement. "In no way do I or this campaign condone derogatory language."