A developer hoping to bring casino gambling to Northern Virginia has contributed $15,000 to two of Arlington’s state delegates.
Incumbent Del. Patrick Hope (D-1) on March 26 received a $10,000 campaign contribution from Reston-based Comstock Hospitality Holdings, which for the past two years has worked to secure General Assembly approval to allow for a casino in Tysons.
This was the largest recent outside campaign contribution to any of the three contenders in the 1st District Democratic primary, according to recently filed finance reports with the Virginia Department of Elections.
Challenging Hope in the June 17 primary are Arjoon Srikanth and Sean Epstein. The 1st District includes much of Arlington north of Columbia Pike.
Del. Adele McClure (D-2), who is not facing any primary challengers, also received a $5,000 contribution from Comstock in January.
Since the start of 2024, Comstock has given more than $700,000 to Virginia elected officials and political groups, according to the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP). That puts the firm ninth in the state for total campaign donations in the 2024-25 period.
About two-thirds of Comstock’s funding has gone to Democrats, according to figures reported by the VPAP.
Hope previously had received $5,000 from Comstock last fall. He did not respond to ARLnow’s requests for comment about the contributions.
Arlington Del. Alfonso Lopez (D-3) has not received any recent contributions from Comstock, according to reported data.
Comstock Holdings aims to develop a parcel in Tysons into an entertainment district with a hotel, conference center and casino as its centerpiece attractions.
Approval by the General Assembly and governor is required before the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors would be able to consider scheduling a referendum on the matter.
Attempts by casino advocates were unsuccessful in both the 2024 and 2025 legislative sessions. Fairfax supervisors largely have been on the fence, with some having opposed the measure and others staying out of the matter.
A measure to give Fairfax supervisors the ability to hold a referendum this February passed the Virginia Senate, 24-16, but died in the Appropriations Committee of the House of Delegates after being referred to it by the General Laws Committee.
In the upper chamber, Arlington’s senators — Sens. Adam Ebbin (D-39) and Barbara Favola (D-40) — both voted against the casino measure when it came to the floor.
Hope, who first was elected in 2009, ended the first quarter of 2025 with a campaign warchest of $50,844. Challengers Srikanth and Epstein had $20,057 and $18,740, respectively.
Like many first-time candidates, the two challengers are partially relying on their own funds to support their campaigns.
According to VPAP data, Srikanth’s $39,013 in contributions for the quarter included $10,100 from himself, while Epstein loaned his own campaign $20,000, accounting for almost all of the $21,976 in receipts reported for the quarter.
All 100 House of Delegates seats are on the ballot in November. The 40 Senate seats do not go to voters again until 2027.
Karantonis holds cash-on-hand advantage in County Board race: In the County Board Democratic primary between incumbent Takis Karantonis and challenger James DeVita, Karantonis held a cash-on-hand advantage at the end of the first quarter.
Karantonis had $18,515 on hand, having raised $10,599 during the quarter. DeVita had $4,803 on hand; he raised $21,765, including $17,500 of his own funds, during the quarter, according to VPAP data.
