CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – It’s early in the 2026 Congressional campaign, but one of the Democrats hoping to get the nomination for the 5th District Congressional seat is “excited” to have outraised Republican incumbent John McGuire in third-quarter fundraising.
McGuire, at this point, does not have a primary opponent, and current Albemarle Scottsville District Supervisor Mike Pruitt is among four declared for the Democratic primary. In his first full quarter raising campaign funds, Pruitt reported to the FEC raising $223,585 for the quarter ending Sept. 30. McGuire reports raising $169,822 in that same time period.
“There’s a lot of stuff happening this year and we’re having to look over a year ahead,” Pruitt said. “When you’re looking this far ahead, one of the main ways you determine momentum, how a campaign is doing, I hate this and I think it points at a lot of things that might be wrong with politics, but it’s money.”
“It is really extraordinary to outraise an incumbent,” Pruitt said.
He notes it’s the most a 5th District Democratic Congressional hopeful has raised at this stage since Tom Perriello in 2008, the last Democrat to win the seat.
The figure is also close what McGuire had raised in the five previous quarters since he started seeking reelection. McGuire’s 2025 3rd-quarter figure is also significantly lower than those previous five quarters where he raised over $230,000 each quarter.
However, it remains to be seen if McGuire will have a primary challenger. Former two-term Congressman Bob Good, who lost to McGuire in a 2024 primary, has filed paperwork and raised a little over $7,000 in this year’s third-quarter. However, he has not announced his run or started a campaign.
The Democrats have four people who’ve declared for their primary run, but only Pruitt and Kate Zabriskie of Lynchburg reported any 3rd-quarter campaign fundraising. Zabriskie report $13.426 raised in the 3rd with no cash on-hand. Paul Riley of Crozet, who was the first to announce, has reported no campaign fundraising, and Charlottesville’s Adele Stichel just entered the race this month and didn’t have a 3rd-quarter report.
McGuire still maintains the overall fundraising lead $646,783 total receipts, and healthy $227,107 cash on-hand. Pruitt’s third-quarter number is his total receipts, and he reported $138,621 cash on-hand. Good has $35,267 total receipts, and $11,504 cash on-hand.
