Americans in general, don’t have the most favorable view of lobbyists. As a result lobbyists tend to have a tough time running for public office. Nowhere is this more apparent than the current race for Virginia’s 10th District, in which veteran lobbyist Barbara Comstock is attempting to win the seat for the Republicans as a Washington outsider.
In reality, Comstock is anything but. In 2004 she worked as a principal at the firm Blank Rome LLP, where she represented Koch Industries, lobbying on crime and environmental issues. She was then employed as a lobbyist for Carnival Cruise lines until 2006, helping the company win controversial contracts for Hurricane Katrina recovery, which were criticized by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. This portfolio led to the founding of Comstock’s own firm, Corallo Comstock.
Comstock’s current run for Congress has become one of the most expensive races in the country, thanks in part to her fundraising abilities, as well as the expensive costs associated with the Washington area media markets. So far, Comstock has raised $1.2 million for this election cycle to help her defeat her Democratic challenger, Fairfax County Supervisor John Foust.
After taking a look at some of her donors, it’s clear that Comstock’s lobbying connections have paid off. Five of her top 20 biggest donors are lobbying firms, and her former client Koch Industries is her third largest donor, having given $15,000 to her campaign.
But helping your friends out with campaign contributions is part of the game here in Washington. When Corallo Comstock was operational, it too donated heavily to political campaigns. In fact from 2007 to 2012, the only outside groups the firm donated to were the Republican Party of Virginia and the 10th District Republican Congressional Committee. At the time Frank Wolf held the seat in the 10th District. Wolf also happened to have been Comstock’s former boss, as she worked as his senior aide in the mid-1990s.
Just goes to show that even out in the Northern Virginia suburbs, everything comes back to Beltway influencers. While Comstock’s still got some hometown clout based on her time serving in the state’s House of Delegates, she is still the furthest thing from a Washington outsider.
