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Outside groups are pouring in big money to influence a marquee election in Virginia on Nov. 8 — and it’s not the presidential race.

Through Tuesday, groups unaffiliated with the campaigns have spent more than $1.5 million on independent expenditures to influence the congressional race in Northern Virginia’s 10th District that pits Rep. Barbara J. Comstock, the Republican, against Democrat LuAnn Bennett.

In contrast, outside groups have spent just $35,000 in the presidential contest in what was expected to be a key swing state, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonpartisan tracker of money in state politics.

“Outside groups seek the biggest bang for the buck, and in Virginia that means putting their money into the most competitive House race — the 10th District,” said Mark J. Rozell, dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University.

“The widespread perception is that Virginia is blue at the presidential level this year, and the polls back that up. So why waste money on what appears to be a one-sided contest in the state?”

Comstock, a former member of the House of Delegates, is seeking a second term representing a diverse congressional district that stretches from Fairfax and Loudoun counties west to Winchester.