Suffolk News-Herald

Anyone who challenges Del. S. Chris Jones for the 76th District House of Delegates seat is going to have a lot of financial ground to make up.

According to the Virginia Public Access Project, Jones, 44, a Republican, has amassed an $88,224 campaign war chest, more than all but two House candidates in the state.

L. Preston Bryant Jr., $104,298, and Franklin P. Hall, $90,402, have amassed more money than Jones. VPAP lists 129 House candidates and the amounts they’ve raised on its Web site, www.vpap.org.

Jones, whose district represents most of Suffolk and parts of Chesapeake, is a pharmacist and former Suffolk City Council member and mayor.

Anyone locally wishing to make a try for state office might have an easier time of it, at least from a fund-raising standpoint, on the Senate side. State Sen. Frederick M. Quayle, who is seeking a fourth term in the 13th Senate District, is listed on the VPAP site as having $17,914 in cash on hand. That places Quayle 40th out of 3 Senate candidates on the site.

Sen. John H. Chichester is tops among senators with $268,756.

Quayle, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Jones, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, launched their re-election bids together earlier this month at the Chuckatuck Volunteer Fire Department.

Jones is expected to face a rematch with Democrat Ira M. Steingold, a lawyer whom Jones defeated in November 2001. It’s unclear whether Quayle will face Democratic opposition in the fall.

VPAP bills itself as &uot;a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to improving public understanding of money in politics.&uot;