By Julia O'Donoghue
Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Republican delegate candidate Barbara Comstock has raised more money over the past six months than any other person vying for one of the 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates this year.

According to the Virginia Public Access Project, only nine delegates — all incumbents who are in leadership positions or are facing tough re-elections — have managed to raise more money than she has overall.

The nine delegates ahead of Comstock in fund raising have also been soliciting donations since 2008, approximately twice as long as she has.

Comstock, a McLean resident, is challenging incumbent Del. Margaret Vanderhye (D) for her 34th District seat, which includes Great Falls and parts of McLean. Two years ago, Vanderhye, also a McLean resident, won the seat over Republican challenger Dave Hunt, with 51.5 percent of the vote.

Comstock has collected $203,860 overall compared to Vanderhye’s $143,492, despite the fact that incumbents usually enjoy a financial advantage over challengers.

With $130,000 in the bank at the end of May, Comstock also has more cash available than Vanderhye, who had approximately $91,000 on hand at the time.

Comstock can tap into a national network of political donors and fund raisers who might not normally donate to a Virginia delegate campaign.

She is the former head of research at the Republican National Committee, where she focused on investigating scandals in the Clinton Administration. Comstock was also a political consultant to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign.

Comstock, who worked for U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10) in the early 1990s, served as a Justice Department spokesman under Attorney General John Ashcroft and worked as counsel for the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee.