Candidate financial disclosure reports for July and August were filed on Tuesday, and we decided to take a look at a few key races to see how the money race is going:

• HD-13: Democratic challenger John Bell significantly out-raised Republican Delegate Bob Marshall, $85,920 to $53,808. Marshall still holds a slim cash-on-hand advantage of $101,549 to $86,414, but Bell’s consistent fundraising and relentless field program have to have the Marshall campaign nervous.
  
  

• HD-17: Democrat Gwen Mason continued to rack up a huge fundraising advantage against Republican Bill Cleaveland in this Roanoke-based open seat. Mason outraised Cleaveland $76,304 to $27,315 in the period and holds a cash-on-hand lead of $83,141 to $34,632.
  
  

• HD-34: Democratic Delegate Margi Vanderhye has her hands full in her race against former Bush administration official Barbara Comstock. Vanderhye raised $54,788 to Comstock’s $60,422, and she also narrowly trails Comstock in cash-on-hand ($132,578 to $158,215). In addition to her normal Bush connections, Karl Rove has been hosting fundraisers for Comstock’s campaign – which tells us all we need to know about what kind of Delegate she’d make.
  
  

• HD-42: Democratic challenger Greg Werkheiser doubled up on Republican Del. Dave Albo (of abusive driving fee infamy), raising $114,207 in the period to Albo’s $53,726. Werkheiser still faces a cash-on-hand deficit against Albo ($80,156 to $144,813), but Werkheiser should close the distance quickly if he can keep up this pace.
  
  

• HD-93: Republican Delegate Phil Hamilton, who was one of the most powerful Delegates in Richmond before he was engulfed in a pay-for-play scandal, is still raking in campaign cash. Hamilton raised $137,302 in July and August, and has $207,209 cash-on-hand. Democrat Robin Abbott is also running a very strong campaign, raising $68,833 and ending with $108,372 on hand, but she knows she’s got a tough fight against Hamilton’s fundraising machine.

These were just a few of the close races in Virginia this year, and there are many more highly-competitive campaigns in the state. More finance reports are available at the Virginia Board of Elections website.

Overall, Democratic and Republican candidates raised about $2.3 million in July and August, with the Republicans raising slightly more. However, the Democrats’ parity is encouraging, especially since the Republicans are in the majority and have more incumbents raising money.