MORGANTOWN – Republicans are out-fundraising and out-spending their Democratic rivals in the statewide races for attorney general and secretary of state.
The AG race is particularly lopsided, with Democrat Teresa Toriseva having raised only 2.9% of Republican J.B. McCuskey’s total for the most recent period and spent 8.6%.
The numbers come from the candidates’ 2024 Third Quarter reports, covering the period of July 1-Sept. 30. One more pre-election report, the 2024 general, is due Oct. 25 and will cover Oct. 1-20.
Attorney general
McCuskey is the sitting state auditor; Toriseva is a Wheeling attorney.
Toriseva has donated $4,738.36 to her campaign.
She opened the period with $1,592.63 and raised $9,158.06 in individual contributions. She gave her campaign $679.38 in-kind (goods and services rather than cash).
She spent $11,326.39, leaving a negative campaign account balance of $575.70.
Her totals for the election year were $46,856.45 raised and $42,729.87 spent.
McCuskey is his single-largest donor, at $120,927.92.
He opened with $21,133.61 and raised $104,594 in individual contributions. He also took in $208,875 at fundraisers in Charleston (three), Bridgeport, the Greenbrier, Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio. Hs account also earned $6.46 in interest.
McCuskey spent $131,625.90 this period, leaving a balance of $203,068.76.
His year-to-date totals were $1,442,179.26 raised and $1,251,284.40 spent.
For an additional comparison, Toriseva’s year-to-date totals were 3.2% of McCuskey’s fundraising and 3.4% of his spending.
Secretary of state
Republican Kris Warner faces Democrat Thornton Cooper.
Warner is executive director of the state Economic Development Authority and brother of current Secretary of State Mac Warner. Cooper is a South Charleston attorney who has served on the Kanawha County and South Charleston Democratic Executive Committees.
While Warner leads overall in fundraising and spending, Cooper held a slight lead in spending during the reporting period and ended with a slightly larger account balance.
Warner has donated $2,300 to his campaign.
He opened the period with $6,729.10 and raised $11,760.63 in individual contributions.
He spent $9,327.61, leaving a balance of $9,162.12.
His year-to-date totals were $157,665.26 raised and $147,568.54 spent.
He lent his campaign $2,030.11 and reports an unpaid bill for a venue rental – noted here before – of $1,420.
Cooper is his single-largest donor, at $17,604.37.
He opened with $14,115 and raised $6,547.89 in individual contributions. His campaign received $30 in-kind, with $25 of that from himself.
Cooper spent $10,284.80, leaving a balance of $10,378.09.
His year-to-date totals were $22,354.37 raised and $11,946.28 spent.
Email: dbeard@dominionpost.com
