O'Brien Gets Last-minute Donation

Citizens for the Commonwealth, a new political action committee hoping to help Republicans keep control of the Senate, gave $60,000 to Sen. James K. "Jay" O'Brien Jr., who is in a tight race for re-election in the 39th district, which includes parts of Fairfax and Prince Williams counties.

As of Sept. 30, O'Brien, had $92,000 in the bank while Democrat George L. Barker had $173,000.

Richard Sharp, the former chairman of Circuit City and co-founder of CarMax, has created Citizens for the Commonwealth, with initial contributions of $275,000 and the expectation of raising more. Three businessmen, including Dwight C. Schar, chairman of home builder NVR in Reston, each contributed $25,000 to the organization.