Warner Has Cash Lead In Virginia Senate Race

According to federal finance reports, the Virginia Democratic Party has a 9-to-1 advantage over the state Republican Party in money that can be used to try to influence the outcome of the presidential, Senate and congressional races. Virginia Democrats, who are trying to raise at least $3 million for their coordinated campaign, have $841,000 in their federal account, compared with the state GOP's $92,000.

"We are going to be using our resources to reach out to voters to make sure we elect Democrats up and down the ticket, from Obama to Warner to our congressional candidates," said Levar Stoney, executive director of the Virginia Democratic Party, which has opened 10 regional offices focused on this fall.

GOP officials said the Republican National Committee, which has $53 million in the bank, can transfer money to the Virginia state party at any time to offset the Democrats' early money advantage.

"We are confident that Virginia will have more than enough resources to help lead John McCain to victory in November," said Katie K. Wright, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, who noted that the Democratic National Committee has $4 million in the bank.

Rebecca Fisher, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said the committee has not decided whether it plans to spend money to try to boost Gilmore.

In Northern Virginia's 11th Congressional District, GOP nominee Keith S. Fimian has an early fundraising advantage over Democratic candidate Gerald E. Connolly, the chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Fimian, a wealthy businessman, said he has about $1 million in the bank for his race.

Connolly, who just finished a costly battle for the nomination against former U.S. representative Leslie L. Byrne, has $271,000 on hand. But Connolly, whose fundraising is expected to pick up over the summer, will probably be able to count on help from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Last week, DCCC officials said they had reserved $1.3 million in airtime in the Washington media market to run ads this fall aimed at the 11th District, which includes most of Fairfax and part of Prince William County.