Electoral Circumstances

Last Election

In the 2016 election, Representative Comstock faced Democrat LuAnn Bennett in the race for the House. Comstock won the race with 52.9% of the vote, narrowly beating Bennett who garnered 47.1%. 

Upcoming Elections

There are numerous factors that could contribute to Representative Comstock's incumbency, or her removal, in the 2018 election. For one, Virginia's 10th District is beginning to lean more Democratic in attitude. For example, in the 2016 Presidential Election, Virginia's 10th voted for Hilary Clinton with 52.2% of the popular vote, compared with Donald Trump's 42.2%. In the 2012 Presidential Election, Mitt Romney narrowly won with 50.8% of votes, compared with Barack Obama's 49.2%. This could be an indication that Comstock's district will vote for a Democratic to take the House seat in 2018. In addition to these factors, the national attitude and political climate closer to the election may determine if Comstock will receive re-election. Historically, "the President's party has lost ground in the House 36 of 39 of midterms since the Civil War". With this, according to public opinion and views of President Trump, the House could easily flip, meaning that Representative Comstock might face a tougher election in 2018.

In one of LuAnn Bennett's campaign videos shown here, Bennett describes Comstock with being closely aligned with Donald Trump in political views. If this comparison shows any truth, it could be detrimental to Congresswoman Comstock's re-election prospects in 2018. 

The Primary in Virginia's 10th...

One interesting factor that could also contribute to Representative Comstock's removal from the House Seat in 2018 is the voting process used in Virginia. For primary elections, a hybrid primary process is used by the State of Virginia. Through this process, a voter doesn't need to be a member of the candidate's political party in order to vote for them in the primary. This further complicates Comstock's chances, and yields that Republicans may even vote for a Democratic House member, if national attitude toward the Republican party declines. 

Campaign Finances

2013-2016 Sources of Funds

• Individual Contributors - $5,189,934 - 59%
• PAC Contributors - $2,833,503 - 32%
• Candidate Self-Financing - $0 - 0%
• Other - $709, 877 - 8%

Altogether, from 2013-2016, Representative Comstock spent a total of $8,683,881. According to the last report, Comstock has no debt incurred in her campaigning or expenditures, which yields that she is in good financial standing.

In the 2016 election, Congresswoman Comstock had significantly higher funds than her opponent. Comstock raised a total of $5,256,693 and spent $5,258,955. This compares to almost double of LuAnn Bennett's $2,821,066 raised and $2,819,672 spent.