Just over two weeks after the elections, Republican state Senate elect Glen Sturtevant, is asking his supporters to fork over more cash to make up for campaign spending. A mass email issued by his campaign says that he would have taken on less debt if his opponent Democrat Dan Gecker, didn’t outspend him by $1 million during the District 10 race.
The email also indirectly refers to the $700,000 ad buy on Gecker’s behalf, by the Michael Bloomberg backed Every Town for Gun Safety – which brought gun safety issues to the forefront for both candidates. In the ad, the parents of slain Roanoke journalist Alison Parker propelled their status as gun control advocates when they called for tougher gun control measures.
Sturtevant’s email reads: “As you know, we were outspent by $1 million during the campaign. Because of the unprecedented amounts of outside money spent against us, we had to take on debt to finish the race strong.”
The email asks potential contributors to give “a small contribution of $100, $75, $50 or even $25 [to] help us retire our debt and finish the year in a strong position.”
In total, Sturtevant spent $1.3 million to Gecker’s $2.3, as indicated by the Virginia Public Access Project. Independent candidate Marleen Durfee spent just over $10,000 and Libertarian candidate Carl Loser spent $5,324.
