A nonprofit organization tied with Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois is giving $250,000 to Virginia Democrats ahead of November’s legislative elections that will determine the balance of power in the state, NBC News reported Wednesday.
Think Big America is contributing $25,000 each to Democrats running in some of Virginia’s swing districts for the state Senate — Danica Roem, Schuyler Van Valkenburg, Russet Perry and Joel Griffin, according to NBC News. Virginia’s Democratic Party will also receive $150,000 from the group ahead of the Nov. 7 election where all of the state’s 140 legislative seats will be on the ballot, which the nonprofit argues could determine the future of abortion access in the state. (RELATED: Republican Governor In Key State Breaks Fundraising Record Ahead Of Election Day)
“Abortion access is on the line in Virginia. Given the chance, anti-choice extremists and their far-right allies will roll back reproductive freedoms in the last state in the south where women’s freedoms are still protected,” Christina Amestoy, spokesperson for the nonprofit, told NBC News. “Think Big America is committed to fighting extremism at every level and will always work to defend a woman’s right to choose.”
Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has been campaigning across the state through his Spirit of Virginia political action committee (PAC) in hopes of holding the House of Delegates and flipping the Senate. If Youngkin is successful, the GOP would control all of the state’s government, which Democrats worry could allow Republicans to pass a 15-week abortion ban, leading them to campaign on the issue, according to NBC News.
The nonprofit has also given to pro-abortion groups in both Ohio and Nevada, where the former will vote on a ballot measure in November to add a constitutional amendment for a right to the procedure and the latter could see a similar initiative in 2024, according to NBC News.
STAFFORD, VIRGINIA – OCTOBER 28: Republican U.S. House nominee Yesli Vega (R) listens to Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (L) during a campaign rally. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Youngkin’s PAC announced on Oct. 4 that it had raised a record-breaking $7.45 million during the year’s third fundraising quarter, bringing the group’s total to $15.5 million since March to support the Republican candidates. The Democratic National Committee has spent $1.5 million on Virginia’s legislative elections, largely at the directive of President Joe Biden.
A Founders Insight poll released Oct. 9 found the legislative elections are in a dead heat, with 45% of likely voters supporting the Democrats, 44% supporting the Republicans and 11% remaining undecided for a generic General Assembly ballot.
Pritzker, Think Big America, the Virginia Democratic Party, Roem, Van Valkenburg, Perry and Griffin did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
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