And it would also be worth a look at overall investments in the Allen v. Kaine race by outside groups, as the Washington Examiner did briefly on Monday—headline: “Virginia Senate race tops in attracting outside money”—with data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Virginia reporters have a leg up in following the money with the work of VPAP, but hopefully they are also digging on their own, keeping an eye on FEC reports as they’re filed, and exploring the FCC’s website for a look at political ad buy data (and potential story seeds) in the larger Virginia markets.

There’s still a bit of time before most Virginians cast votes—and more than a bit of a need—to tell the story of money in Virginia politics.

Tharon Giddens logged more than two decades in newspapers in Georgia and South Carolina as a writer and editor. He is now living on an alpaca farm east of Richmond, Virginia.