Sen. Tim Kaine raised more than $2 million in the first quarter of 2018 and had more than $10 million on hand at the end of March as the Virginia Democrat gears up for his first re-election bid.
Mr. Kaine’s campaign said Tuesday that the senator has now raised close to $16 million over the course of the 2018 election cycle.
Mr. Kaine, first elected to the Senate in 2012, formally launched his re-election campaign last week, holding campaign events in two dozen cities across Virginia over the past eight days.
He faces re-election in what’s become a perennial battleground state since 2008, but one that has trended blue in recent statewide elections.
Republicans have not won a statewide election in the commonwealth since 2009, when they swept the races for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general.
In 2016, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Mr. Kaine, the party’s vice presidential nominee, carried the state over President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
In 2017, Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam defeated Republican Ed Gillespie by about 9 percentage points in the race to succeed former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
Mr. Kaine will face one of three Republicans who are squaring off in a June 12 primary: Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart, Chesapeake Bishop E.W. Jackson, and state Del. Nick Freitas.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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