Dominion Energy, Virginia’s largest public utility company and one of state’s most prolific political donors, is once again flexing its power in politics — giving more than $2.6 million to candidates from both parties between April 1 and May 25.
At the same time, Clean Virginia, another major donor organization with a stated mission to promote clean government and clean energy, continues to fund candidates who do not accept Dominion’s money, giving more than $1 million during the same time period.
While the gubernatorial race is top of the ticket for Virginians this year, Dominion appears to be focused more on down-ballot contests.
In the race for attorney general, Dominion is slightly hedging its bets. The utility giant gave $300,000 to Jason Miyares’ reelection campaign and matched that amount in support of Shannon Taylor, the Henrico County commonwealth’s attorney, as she competes for the Democratic nomination. Dominion gave an additional $75,000 to Taylor’s campaign before this latest report, and has given Miyares an additional $175,000.
Taylor faces former state Del. Jay Jones, who is backed by Clean Virginia, in the primary. Clean Virginia has given Jones’ campaign a total of $400,000.
“One of the most important roles of Virginia’s attorney general is protecting consumers from corporate abuse,” said Brennan Gilmore, Clean Virginia’s executive director. “One of the most predatory monopolies in the state is Dominion Energy. It is extremely disappointing that any candidate for Attorney General would corrupt themselves by taking nearly $400,000 from them.”
Taylor’s campaign manager, Emma Gore, responded Tuesday in a statement to Virginia Scope.
“These absurd attacks are just trying to hide the fact that Jay Jones has never prosecuted a criminal case in his life, spent less than a year in the DC AG’s office, and has never flipped a Republican seat,” Gore said. “Shannon Taylor is the only Democrat who can be trusted to defeat Jason Miyares and fight back against Donald Trump this November.”
Jones’ campaign pointed out that Miyares and Taylor have the same top donor.
“Shannon Taylor and Jason Miyares share the same top donor – her financial contributions speak for themselves,” said Jones’ campaign manager, Rachel Rothman. “As a legislator and assistant attorney general, Jay is proud of his record of protecting abortion access in Virginia, and taking on the MAGA agenda and corporate polluters alike.”
Dominion Energy declined to comment for this story.
The rivalry between the two powerhouse donors also shows in the race for lieutenant governor.
Clean Virginia gave $25,000 to Democratic primary candidates Aaron Rouse and Ghazala Hashmi, while Dominion gave $125,000 to Levar Stoney and $50,000 to Babur Lateef.
Neither Clean Virginia nor Dominion has given money to the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, John Reid.
Notably, Dominion did not contribute to Republican gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears during this period. The company did give Earle-Sears $50,000 in March and $10,000 last year. Her Democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, received $200,000 from Clean Virginia during the latest reporting period and an additional $250,000 last year.
Clean Virginia, which has historically focused more on Democrats than Republicans, has been expanding its reach into Republican politics recently.
Republican Dels. Carrie Coyner, Amanda Batten, Lee Ware and Joe McNamara have all received funding from Clean Virginia.
Dominion’s donations are more evenly split over the last two years, giving more than $3 million to each party. Clean Virginia has given over $1 million to Democrats during that same time period, while giving Republicans less than $200,000.
Clean Virginia’s influence has been evident in Democratic leadership battles in the past, such as when former Del. Lashrecse Aird, backed by Clean Virginia, unsuccessfully challenged former Del. Eileen Filler-Corn for the top spot in the caucus.
That influence on the Republican side is lacking, which was apparent in last week’s leadership battle with House Republicans when there was virtually no mention of Clean Virginia and Dominion.
Meanwhile, Dominion remains close with leadership in both chambers of the General Assembly.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, and Senate Appropriations Chair Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, both received $100,000 from Dominion during this latest reporting period.
Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, received $90,000, and Sen. Mark Peake, who is also the chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, also received $90,000.
Speaker of the House Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, received $100,000 to his campaign account and another $100,000 to his Future Generations PAC. Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott, who was just elected the new leader of the House Republican Caucus, has received nearly $1 million from Dominion during his time in the chamber.
These donations signal Dominion’s continued favor with leadership, regardless of party control, which appears to have helped them prevent laws from passing that could hinder their efforts.
Legislators who receive support from Clean Virginia have attempted to introduce bills in the past to ban donations from public utility companies, but they have been unsuccessful.
As Dominion and Clean Virginia continue their tug-of-war over the state’s political future, the outcomes in these races may shape more than just the next four years — they could redefine who holds real power in Virginia.
*The Virginia Public Access Project provided the numbers in this story.