More Eye-Popping Late Donations from Dominion, Clean Virginia
By Steve Haner
Dominion Energy Virginia has contributed another $1 million plus to Virginia state-level politicians in large, late pre-primary donations, with the largest amounts given to Shannon Taylor’s run for Attorney General and Levar Stoney’s campaign for lieutenant governor. This close to the vote, state law requires rapid reporting on late large checks.
According to the activist group Clean Virginia, no slouch in the campaign dollar department itself, the regulated utility’s total support to Taylor has reached $800,000, which it claims is “the largest amount ever directly contributed by an electric utility to a candidate in a competitive race in U.S. history.” Taylor faces fellow Democrat Jay Jones in the primary which closes out Tuesday.
Is it the largest amount ever? Who can prove that? It is quite a sum of money, clearly reaching the level it has because of the role the Attorney General of Virginia plays in cases before the State Corporation Commission. But on this list of late Dominion donations, former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney received $193,000, even more than Shannon. His total from Dominion is approaching $700,000. That much for a lieutenant governor candidate is also amazing.
Dominion has been equally or even more generous with a host of other Virginia legislators in this campaign cycle. Perhaps the qualifier to watch in Clean Virginia’s release is “competitive race,” because most Virginia legislative heavy weights are in safe districts. Dominion gave six figure donations in the last couple of weeks to two state senators in pure blue districts not even on the 2025 ballot.
For its part, Clean Virginia pumped another $665,000 into campaigns in late, large dollar donations. Well, one campaign. Jones got $175,000 in cash and the rest (or most of it) went into an anti-Taylor media campaign focused on her accepting Dominion’s largesse.
Clean Virginia is tracking the spending (as you can) on the State Board of Elections website. Here is the page you use to search for a candidate or committee name. This link should show you the Dominion report and this Clean Virginia’s. The data had not migrated to the Virginia Public Access Project yet. It will be worth checking again late Monday, right before the polls open.
Dominion and Clean Virginia are also divided on the six-way race for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, each betting on two contenders. Dominion has given substantial sums to Stoney, but smaller amounts to a Prince William-based candidate Babur Lateef. Clean Virginia has given to Gazala Hashmi and Aaron Rouse.
Dwayne Yancey’s online Cardinal News is one media outlet with a strong focus on energy issues and he included two energy questions on its list of queries for the candidates for lieutenant governor. One focused on how to close the growing gap between electricity demand and supply.
“Virginia must adopt an all-of-the above energy strategy” responded Babur Lateef in a longer paragraph. Levar Stoney also chose to include the words, “we need to invest in an all of the above approach.” Both never mention natural gas directly, and specifically talk about solar, wind and battery, but that now-cliched phrase “all of the above” is often interpreted to mean natural gas is on the table. They are the only two using that perhaps coded phrase, and the only two receiving Dominion’s funding. It could be a coincidence. Just saying.
