Sophomore Rep. Thelma Drake (R) will receive some fundraising help later this month from White House Press Secretary Tony Snow.

Snow is scheduled to join Drake at the Holiday Inn Executive Center in Virginia Beach on March 30. Ticket prices start at $125 and go up from there.

Drake struggled to win re-election last year in a district that leans Republican in presidential races, taking 51 percent of the vote against Virginia Beach Commissioner of the Revenue Phil Kellam (D).

But it isn’t clear whether the Democrats will target her again in 2008. If they do, they probably will pressure Kellam to try again.

After spending more than $2.3 million on her re-election, Drake finished 2006 with just $3,400 in the bank. Kellam, who spent more than $1.5 million, ended the year with $60,000 in cash on hand but with $160,000 of debt.

— Josh Kurtz