Rigell drops another $500K into Virginia 2nd district campaign

Four days after the latest Federal Election Commission reports showed Scott Rigell (R) badly trailing Rep. Glenn Nye (D) in the fundraising department, the Republican challenger has decided to make up some of the difference out of his own pocket.

Rigell, a successful auto dealer in the Hampton Roads area, has put $500,000 into his campaign in recent days, according to his campaign manager, Jason Miyares. That brings the total amount Rigell has loaned to his campaign this cycle to more than $1.4 million.

As of June 30, Rigell had just $227,000 in the bank while Nye had $1.3 million. Rigell had to fight off several opponents in the June 8 GOP primary before he could turn his attention to Nye, forcing him to burn a good chunk of cash.

But Rigell's personal wealth means he can still be competitive with the incumbent Democrat, and is part of the reason -- along with his solid name identification in the 2nd district -- why national Republicans have long backed his candidacy.