With two weeks to go until the Nov. 3 Election Day, the 2009 race for the 42nd District seat in the House of Delegates is shaping up to be the most expensive race of its kind in the history of Virginia. It is likely to get even pricier, since the last few weeks of the election are typically the most expensive of the entire campaign cycle.

Together, Del. Dave Albo (R-42) and Democratic challenger Greg Werkheiser spent a total of approximately $1.46 million by Oct. 21 fighting over a part-time job that pays less than $20,000 per year.

According to the Virginia Public Access Project, approximately 55,000 potential voters live in the 42nd District, meaning that the campaigns combined have already spent about $26.50 on each person who could cast a ballot in their favor.

In reality, less than half of the people who can vote actually turn up at the polls. When Albo and Werkheiser ran against each other for the first time four years ago, only about 20,000 voters showed up to vote in that delegate race. If the same voter turn out occurs this year, the two campaigns will have already spent approximately $73 on each vote cast in the race.

Incumbents typically have an easier time raising money and Albo, who has been in the legislature since 1994, is ahead of Werkheiser in terms of campaign income.

From 2008 through Oct. 21 of this year, Albo received $776,896.62 in campaign donations. He was also able to carry over previous funds from his 2006 and 2007 fund-raising efforts, for a total of $843,890.75 overall.

Werkheiser raised $685,385.73 during the 2008 and 2009 time period and had no money to carry over from a previous election cycle.

Albo is the fifth most successful fund raiser and Werkheiser is the sixth most successful fund raiser of all the candidates running for the 100 seats up for re-election in the Virginia House of Delegates this year.

Of the few people ahead of 42nd District candidates in the money race, most are members of the Democratic or Republican leadership, such as House Speaker William Howell (R-28) and Democratic House minority leader Ward Armstrong (D-10). People in such political leadership positions typically have to raise more money than candidates like Albo and Werkheiser because they are responsible for contributing to several delegate campaigns, in addition to funding their own races.

Both candidates have spent most of what they had raised by the middle of October, according to most recent campaign finance reports. Albo had spent $754,292.28 and Werkheiser had spent $641,410.73 by Oct. 21.

This is far more than either 42nd District candidate spent during the entire election cycle in 2005, when Albo spent about $540,624 and Werkheiser spent $460,195.

In 2009, the two campaigns appear to be spending most of their money on staff, television and radio advertisements and direct mail pieces. Before Sept. 30, Albo has spent more than $200,000 on television, radio and direct mail pieces alone. Werkheiser had spent a little more than $110,000 on the same items in that time period, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

In the last month of the campaign, both Albo and Werkheiser have received large donations from their respective political parties, indicating that leadership in the both the Virginia Republican and Democratic camps considers the race to be close between the two candidates.

Dominion Leadership Trust, a campaign committee run the Republican House Speaker, contributed $50,000 to Albo’s campaign on Oct. 13 and an additional $42,000 on Oct. 20.

Albo also made two individual $20,000 contributions to his election efforts on Oct. 9 and Oct. 14, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

On Werkheiser’s side, the Democratic House Caucus donated $30,000 on both Oct. 1 and Oct. 15 and $25,000 on Oct. 8. Over the past month, the Democratic Party of Virginia has also made eight individual contributions hovering around $8,000 each to the Werkheiser campaign.