Virginia legislator was allowed to use campaign funds for her defense. So she did.

By: Roger Chesley

Outlets: Virginia Mercury

Published: July 31, 2026

Words: 921

Last Updated: 3 days, 10 hours ago

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State Sen. Louise Lucas, the powerful Portsmouth Democrat, used $300,000 in campaign funds to contribute to her legal defense fund and hire a law firm following an FBI raid in May on her businesses in Portsmouth. That’s a sizable amount.

What The Virginian-Pilot article should have noted higher in the story was that Lucas was allowed to do this — since the payments occurred before July 1. That’s when a new state law …

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