By james art 
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — It’s practically a tidewater tradition.
Every two years, ads air from the Democratic and Republican nominees vying for the seat representing Virginia’s 2nd congressional district.
this year, Missy Cotter Smasal is a challenging incumbent Representative Jen Keegans(R-Virginia Beach) for the seat.
So far, more than $5.7 million has been spent on the race for advertising, according to data compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project. More than 64% of the money was spent by Super PACs and advocacy groups not directly affiliated with the campaigns.
The House Majority PAC, which has close ties to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has spent more than $2.5 million to help Smasal.
Keegans’ candidacy has received more than $731,000 in support from the WFW Action Fund, the American Action Network and the National Republican Congressional Committee.
The rest are from the candidates themselves.
However, if you go to “Track Funds” to see who’s really fueling candidates locally, you’ll quickly find that the funds haven’t been reported since before the Fourth of July.
Under federal campaign finance law, campaign committees are only required to file quarterly. Which means that even though early voting has been underway for more than two weeks in Virginia, much of the information about who is funding some of the ad blitz is still under wraps.
More than 7 percent of registered voters in the district have already voted, according to data analyzed by 10 On Your Side. Brendan Glavin s OpenSeacretsanother nonprofit covering money in politics said it gives the voter something else to think about.
“So now we’re waiting until Oct. 15 to get those third-quarter reports,” Glavin said. “And that really creates this big information gap where we don’t have donor information right now. We have no information on how the campaigns spend their money.”
Changing reporting deadlines to accommodate early voting would require action by Congress, according to the Federal Election Commission.
While neither campaign has said they would advocate for such a change, both candidates are using the issue of campaign finance in their messaging.
“I’m running a grassroots-driven campaign that puts coastal Virginians first,” Smasal said. “The entire campaign finance system needs an overhaul because voters should be prioritized over wealthy donors and corporations. There needs to be full transparency about who funds political campaigns to avoid the corruption for pay that politicians like Jen Keegans engage in.
The League of Conservation Voters is currently running an ad on local television accusing Keegans of being involved in a “pay-to-play” scandal.
Earlier this year, Kiggans accepted $3,500 from Rocket Lab USA, an aerospace and defense company that reportedly supported extending a natural gas pipeline to Wallops in Accomack County to fuel some of its launches, according to report in Politico.
In the months following the donations, Keegans requested $7.4 million in funding for the project. The request was eventually withdrawn with Keegans, citing the need for further clarification of the project.
“Jen Keegans works hard every day to ensure Virginia’s Second District has the support it needs, from our military and veterans to the infrastructure needed for good-paying jobs,” said Reilly Richardson, a campaign spokeswoman. “This lie is just another desperate smear attempt by Kotter Smasal’s failed campaign. If Missy Cotter Smasal is truly concerned about election transparency, I suggest she start her own campaign, which is fueled almost exclusively by dark money and national extreme liberal organizations funded by out-of-state billionaires.”
Dr. Ben Melusky, a political science professor at Old Dominion University, said most donations are made to gain access to the candidate.
“We’re always thinking about money itself, because it doesn’t buy a yes vote, right?” Meluski said. “It does not create someone who is committed to an organization, an interest group or an individual. But what it does, and we know, is it creates access. So when the bill takes shape or the bill makes its way through committee…what it does is it creates access for that group so that when they call a member, that member will take the call, they’ll take the meeting , they will meet with a representative. So it gives them more access to them than, say, the average person would think.
It’s a practice that knows no party lines, Meluski said.
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