Dominion Pours Millions Into Virginia Politics as Commonwealth Weighs $67 Billion NextEra Acquisition
September 17, 2026
Dominion Pours Millions Into Virginia Politics as Commonwealth Weighs $67 Billion NextEra Acquisition
Dominion Spends $3.67 Million in Political Contributions in the Wake of Merger Announcement
RICHMOND, Va. — A coalition of Virginia organizations today denounced Dominion Energy’s increased political spending as the Commonwealth weighs NextEra Energy’s proposed $67 billion acquisition of the company. Newly filed campaign finance reports show Dominion contributed $3.67 million during the latest reporting period — bringing its 2026 total giving to $6.1 million — with more than half of that money coming after the proposed acquisition was announced.
The latest campaign finance filings come as Virginia considers whether to approve the largest utility acquisition transaction in U.S. history. Given the unprecedented scale and complexity of the proposal, advocacy groups have called on Governor Abigail Spanberger and General Assembly leadership to convene a special session and extend the timeline for review of the proposed acquisition — a call that has yet to be answered.
“A decision of this magnitude demands adequate time for thorough review and meaningful public scrutiny. Virginia’s leaders have the power to make sure that time is granted, yet the call for a special session to extend the review period continued to be rebuffed.” said Melissa Thomas, co-director of the Stop NextEra Coalition. “At the same time, Dominion is pouring millions of dollars into Virginia politics. That should make us all take a closer look at who has influence in this process and whether the public is being given the time and voice it deserves.”
“Dominion’s unprecedented off-year spending spree isn’t political, it’s clearly meant to influence policy. The timing of Dominion’s most recent contributions highlights Virginia’s fundamental vulnerability to political corruption as one of only four states without laws restricting corporate campaign contributions,” said Wes Gobar, Clean Virginia good governance director. “If this merger is approved, everyday Virginians will continue to pay the price for corporate political influence through rising energy bills and unchecked data center development. Now is the time for legislators to take action on campaign finance reform and get corporate money out of politics,” said Gobar.
“Combining these two companies under the same corporate umbrella would bring Dominion's existing political influence operation into a much larger company with its own long and troubling record of outsized political spending," said Luis Aguilar, We Are CASA Virginia director. "NextEra had around $125 million in known political spending between 2010 and 2025, compared with less than $65 million in known spending by Dominion. For Virginians, that raises an important question: what happens when a utility with enormous influence in Virginia becomes part of an even larger corporate entity with an established history of using its political power to advance its interests? It also begs the question: whose voice will be heard by our representatives?”
As the SCC continues its review of the proposed acquisition, advocates say the latest campaign finance reports should prompt renewed scrutiny of the role dominant political forces wield over Virginia’s regulatory process, particularly when these powerful institutions are seeking approval for a transaction of unprecedented scale.
“Virginians are being asked to stretch their budgets further and further to keep up with rising energy costs, while the companies they depend on are growing more powerful and more politically influential,” said Rev. Dr. Faith Harris, Virginia Interfaith Power and Light director. “For families already struggling to afford their bills, the prospect of concentrating even more corporate power in the hands of a utility giant should demand careful scrutiny.”
At the same time, Virginia is facing decisions about how to regulate and power the data center boom, including who should pay for the billions of dollars in infrastructure that could be built to support it. Both Dominion and NextEra stand to benefit financially from the industry’s continued growth, putting the companies at the center of some of the most consequential energy and infrastructure decisions facing Virginia — decisions that are influenced by the millions Dominion is pouring into Virginia politics.
“Virginia is at a crossroads over how far we will go to accommodate the data center industry and who will be asked to pay for it. Communities are already seeing the enormous infrastructure demands that come with these facilities while families and small businesses are struggling with rising energy costs and impacts on their communities. Dominion and NextEra have a direct financial interest in continued data center growth, yet they also have enormous influence in the political system that will determine the rules and costs of that growth,” said Julie Bolthouse, Piedmont Environmental Council director of land use. “Virginians deserve a process where decisions about our energy future are driven by the public interest, not by the corporations that stand to profit from those decisions.”
The coalition said Dominion’s latest political contributions are a reminder that Virginia’s tolerance for outsized corporate influence has consequences beyond individual political campaigns. When a utility with a monopoly over millions of customers can exert such sweeping structural influence while major decisions affecting its business are before the Commonwealth’s leadership, the potential for concentrated corporate influence becomes a critical matter of public concern.
"This amount of political spending raises the question of why Dominion is sending such large sums of money to lawmakers at this particular time,” said Patrice Smallwood, Virginia Organizing state governing board chairperson. “How do constituents know that Dominion is not using fiscal means to influence lawmakers on the proposed merger? This is why we need to prohibit regulated utilities from making such contributions."
According to the filings:
Dominion Energy contributed $3.67 million during the latest reporting period — more than triple the amount reported from the previous two reporting periods in 2026.
Dominion’s total reported political contributions for 2026 now stand at $6.1 million — a figure already close to 30% of its entire $20.6 million spend during the 2024-25 election cycle — despite only being eight months into the 2026-2027 cycle.
More than half of Dominion’s 2026 contributions were made after the company announced its proposed acquisition by NextEra Energy on May 18, 2026.
The campaign finance figures cited in this release come from campaign finance reports filed with the Virginia Department of Elections on September 15, 2026. The reports cover the reporting period from May 26 - August 31, 2026.
Stop NextEra is a nonpartisan coalition of Virginia faith, community, and consumer organizations pressing the State Corporation Commission and state lawmakers to protect Virginians from the costs of unconstrained data center buildout, including NextEra's proposed $67 billion acquisition of Dominion Energy. Stop NextEra is fighting to make sure Virginians, not utility executives, decide what happens to their power grid.
With over 189,000 lifetime members across 46 US states, WE ARE CASA is a national powerhouse organization building power and improving the quality of life in working-class: Black, Latino/a/e, Afro-descendent, Indigenous, and Immigrant communities. CASA creates change with its powerbuilding model blending human services, community organizing, and advocacy in order to serve the full spectrum of the needs, dreams, and aspirations of members.
Virginia Interfaith Power & Light (VAIPL) is the state affiliate of a national organization, Interfaith Power & Light, which is dedicated to bringing together all faith communities to mobilize a religious response to climate change through energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy.
Virginia Organizing is a non-partisan statewide grassroots organization dedicated to challenging injustice by empowering people in local communities to address issues that affect the quality of their lives. Virginia Organizing especially encourages the participation of those who have traditionally had little or no voice in our society. By building relationships with individuals and groups throughout the state, Virginia Organizing strives to get them to work together, democratically and non-violently, for change.
The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) works to protect and restore the lands and waters of the Virginia Piedmont, while building stronger, more sustainable communities. Founded in 1972, PEC is a locally based, community-supported 501(c)3 nonprofit and accredited land trust. At the core of PEC’s approach is a focus on educating, engaging and empowering people to effect positive change in their communities.
Clean Virginia is a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to removing corporate money from Virginia politics and reforming utility regulation to put customers first.