The 5th District congressional race between Democratic challenger Tom Perriello and Republican incumbent Virgil Goode appears to be the most financially competitive of the three congressional districts in Western Virginia.

Those two 5th District candidates raised a combined $708,392 -- more than twice as much as the total raised by candidates in the 6th District, where independent Janice Lee Allen and Democrat Sam Rasoul are challenging Republican incumbent Bob Goodlatte of Roanoke County. In the 9th District, incumbent Democrat Rick Boucher of Abingdon, who is unopposed, raised more than $197,000.

Perriello, from Albemarle County, is viewed as Democrats' best chance to defeat Goode, a six-term incumbent. During the second quarter, the Goode campaign raised $82,000 more than Perriello's and spent $139,500 less.

In the 6th District, the campaign finance numbers were much lower. Goodlatte out-raised challenger Rasoul by a more than 4-to-1 margin. Combined with the $1.5 million in cash on hand with which he began the quarter, Goodlatte ended the filing period with 18 times as much cash on hand as Rasoul.

Allen, who said she's running her campaign on a "shoestring budget," raised and spent less than $5,000 and didn't file a report.

-- Mason Adams