Two Arlington state representatives received $15,000 from a developer who hopes to bring casino gaming to Northern Virginia.
Incumbent Del. Patrick Hope (D-1), on March 26, received a $10,000 contribution to his campaign from Reston’s Comstock Hospitality Holdings. The company has been working for two years to get General Assembly approval for a Tysons casino.
According to finance reports filed with the Virginia Department of Elections, this was the largest outside contribution received by any of the 3 candidates in the 1st district Democratic primary.
Arjoon Shrikanth, and Sean Epstein are the candidates who will be challenging Hope on June 17. The First District covers most of Arlington north from Columbia Pike.
Del. Adele McClure, D-2, who does not have any primary opponents in the race for her seat received and a $5,000 contribution by Comstock.
According to the Virginia Public Access Project, Comstock has donated more than $700,000.000 to Virginia’s elected officials and political organizations since the beginning of 2024. This puts Comstock in ninth place in the state in terms of total campaign contributions in 2024-25.
According to the VPAP, about two-thirds (or $70 million) of Comstock’s funds have gone to Democrats.
Hope had previously received $5,000 from Comstock in the fall of last year.
Arlington Del. Comstock has not made any contributions to Alfonso Lopez D-3 in the last few years, as reported by data.
Comstock Holdings plans to turn a parcel of land in Tysons, Virginia into an Entertainment District that will include a casino, hotel and conference center.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors must first receive approval from the General Assembly and Governor before they can consider holding a referendum.
Casino advocates failed in their attempts to pass legislation during the 2024 as well as 2025 sessions. Fairfax supervisors have largely been on the fence. Some have opposed the measure, while others remain neutral.
A bill to allow Fairfax supervisors to hold a vote in February was passed by the Virginia Senate with 24-16 votes, but it died at the House of Delegates Appropriations Committee after being sent to them from the General Laws Committee.
Arlington senators Sens. Adam Ebbin, D-39 and Barbara Favola, D-40 — both — voted against when the casino measure was brought to the floor.
Hope, first elected in 2009, had a campaign fund of $50,000 at the end of the first quarter 2025. The challengers Srikanth & Epstein each had $20,057 & $18,740.
The two candidates are partly relying on the funds they have raised themselves to fund their campaigns.
According to VPAP, Srikanth contributed $39,013 for the third quarter, including $10,100 of his own money, while Epstein lent himself $20,000 for the campaign, which accounted for nearly all the $21,976 reported in receipts for the period.
In November, all 100 seats in the House of Delegates will be on the ballot. The 40 Senate seats will not be up for re-election until 2027.
Karantonis has an advantage in the County Board race. In County Board Democratic Primary, incumbent Takis Karantonis was ahead of challenger James DeVita on cash-on hand at the end the first quarter.
Karantonis, who raised $10,599 in the last quarter, had $18,515 available. DeVita, who had $4,803 in his bank account, raised $21,765, which included $17,500 from his own money, during the third quarter.
