A service of Salisbury University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

VA Governor Stuggles With Fundraising After Blackface Incident

Governor Ralph Northam (D-VA)
Northam campaign website
Governor Ralph Northam (D-VA)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is struggling to raise big money in a key election year after a blackface scandal nearly ended his political career.

New campaign finance reports filed Monday show the Democratic governor raised slightly more than $300,000 between April and June. That's far below the seven-figure hauls his predecessors, former Govs. Terry McAuliffe and Bob McDonnell, raised during similar periods when they were in office.

Northam almost resigned in February after a racist picture surfaced from his 1984 medical school yearbook page. He denied being in the picture but admitted to wearing blackface as a young man.

Virginia governors cannot serve consecutive terms but are typically their party's biggest fundraisers for off-year legislative elections.

All 140 seats in the General Assembly are on the ballot in November.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.