The Arlington County Board’s newest member is asking supporters for assistance in paying off remaining campaign debt.
JD Spain, Sr., who took out $32,000 in loans a few weeks before the Democratic primary in June, emailed supporters on Dec. 30 asking them to contribute to a “final push” for funding. As of the end of December, Spain told ARLnow, he had paid off 85% of campaign loans.
Spain, who captured 58% of the vote in the general election after winning the ranked-choice Democratic primary with 55% of votes, spent significantly more in 2024 than in his unsuccessful County Board campaign in 2023. He turned in receipts for $187,905 in the most recent race, compared to $103,023 in the one before it.
While not all candidates take out loans to run for local office, doing so is fairly common in Arlington.
Spain’s toughest competitor in the primary, Natalie Roy, took out $16,000 in loans to raise a total of $106,079, campaign finance reports show. And his closest competition in the general election, Juan Carlos Fierro (R) — who captured about 15% of the vote — took out $5,074 in loans to raise $10,045.
Loans also played a role in the 2023 County Board race, where winner Susan Cunningham took out $20,000, for a total warchest of $130,774, according to finance reports. The other winner that year, Maureen Coffey, took out no loans and raised $58,806.
Though the election came out in his favor, Spain criticized the role that personal finances currently play in Virginia politics.
“This is not a sustainable model for democracy,” he said. “In my opinion, the financial burden of campaigning creates barriers that discourage diverse voices from entering public office. I firmly support campaign finance reform in Virginia.”
The new County Board member spent most of his campaign dollars on a variety of advertising materials, as he said he tried to connect with a broad range of voters.
Spain said that sending a mailer to every household in Arlington, for instance, would have been prohibitively expensive. Finance reports show he spent funds on a mix of products including online ads, signs and $49,888 for “campaign marketing” at direct mail and digital advertising company Click Stamp Strategies.
“You’re talking about a reality,” Spain said, referring to campaign costs. “How else do you think you’re going to engage with 164,000 eligible voters? How do you meet them where they are?”
While Spain spent the most prior to the primary, he kept his foot on the gas in the months leading up to Election Day — raising $54,392 in total between July 1 and Nov. 28, and spending almost all of it.
Though Spain stands by his approach to campaign finances, including taking out loans, he noted that many people aren’t in a position to accept that level of financial risk.
“For years, proposals to establish stricter contribution limits and reduce the influence of special interests have been introduced by state legislators, only to stall in Richmond,” he said. “These reforms are vital to restoring public trust and ensuring our legislative process is not dictated by unlimited financial contributions. Until meaningful changes are made, running a campaign will remain prohibitively expensive.”
Since he sent out the call for support last week, Spain said some supporters have responded to help close the remaining funding gap.
One notable donor to contribute post-election? Amazon.
The tech giant donated $5,000 to Spain’s campaign on Dec. 22, reports show.
Spain, who had raised concerns about possible negative impacts prior to HQ2’s arrival in Pentagon City, said the contribution came after he asked for donations to help cover the cost of a victory party earlier in December. He said he accepted to funds partly because of Amazon’s ongoing support for affordable housing in Arlington.
“When they came here, I also said, ‘Hey, I’m going to hold them accountable to being good stewards in our community,’ and I would also say that they’ve done that in large part,” he said. He added that he remains critical of Amazon on some points.
