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Move over swing states: Control of Congress runs through New York — and costs a lot
By
Jon Campbell
Published Nov 1, 2024
Modified Nov 3, 2024
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Daniel Shapiro/Gothamist
By
Jon Campbell
Published Nov 1, 2024
Modified Nov 3, 2024
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What’s it cost to try to win a handful of New York congressional races that could help tip the balance of power in Washington?
The answer is $146 million … so far.
Democrats and Republicans have zeroed in on six House districts in the Empire State that are potentially up for grabs on Election Day. Most of them are in New York City’s suburbs in the Hudson Valley and Long Island.
The political donor class has responded by putting its money where its collective mouth is and pumping tens of millions of dollars into each race. That money has been used to blanket the airwaves in an attempt to influence some of the nation's most consequential House races.
Here’s a look at the key New York congressional contests by the numbers.
We’re No. 2! The second-most expensive race in the country is …
… New York’s sprawling 19th District, which stretches all the way from the mid-Hudson Valley to Ithaca.
The bitter rematch between Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro and Democratic attorney Josh Riley has attracted about $41 million in spending so far this cycle, according to Federal Elections Commission filings.
That’s the second-highest total in the country, just behind a House race in California, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks election spending.
A total of 32 outside groups have put about $27 million into the race, funding a barrage of ads — most of them negative — focusing on immigration, abortion and more.
Elsewhere in the state, the Hudson Valley battle between incumbent GOP Rep. Mike Lawler and former Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones is also one of the country’s most expensive races, coming in at roughly $36 million.
So who’s funding these six NY races?
The bulk of the spending — about $90 million — is coming from outside groups, which are allowed to raise unlimited amounts of money.
The biggest spenders include the Congressional Leadership Fund, a national PAC dedicated to electing Republicans that has spent $25.8 million on the six New York races alone. Its biggest donors include Timothy Mellon, a banking heir and major GOP benefactor, and Kenneth Griffin, the CEO of hedge fund Citadel.
The House Majority PAC — a pro-Democrat organization — has spent about $15 million. Its biggest donor is former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Battleground New York, a PAC supporting Democrats that is largely funded by labor unions, has spent more than $4 million on the six races; it also spent about $1.6 million on Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, who is back on the ballot after winning a key special election to replace expelled Republican Rep. George Santos earlier this year. Suozzi is facing Republican Michael LiPetri.
All told, 70 different outside groups have spent at least some money trying to influence the key New York races.
That includes groups like Bloomberg’s gun safety organization Everytown, which has spent about $1.6 million supporting Democratic candidates or criticizing their Republican opponents, according to Federal Elections Commission data.
On the Republican side, the National Association of Realtors’ PAC has spent about $2.8 million supporting Lawler and Molinaro.
Two-thirds of the money has gone toward negative ads or efforts that oppose a candidate. The remaining third has gone to positive ads or efforts that support a candidate, according to the filings.
$500,000 each: Wall Street-heavy collective bets big on NY Dems
An organized collective of 99 well-heeled donors, most of them from the tristate area, provided a big boost to three New York Democrats in battleground races.
It’s called the House Victory Fund, and its donors collectively contributed more than $500,000 each to Jones, Riley and Laura Gillen, a Long Island Democrat challenging Rep. Anthony D’Esposito.
It’s a significant chunk of change. In all three cases in New York, the fund is listed as the candidates’ biggest donor, though it’s really a collection of donations.
The fund raised more than $8 million from individuals this year – more than $6 million of which came from people who listed a New York address. That includes many Wall Street types, including former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and a wide array of financiers, executives and employees with various investment funds, as Politico reported earlier this year.
Other donors who gave to the national fundraising effort include Laurie Tisch, whose family owns the New York Giants; Kamal Patel, CEO of Ellkay, a health care data management company; philanthropists David and Susan Rockefeller; and Elizabeth Economy of the Hoover Institution.
$21.8 million: The nation’s top-raising candidate is in … Brooklyn?
New York City isn’t expected to see any competitive congressional elections this year. So why has a Brooklyn representative raised far more than any other House candidate in the country?
Don’t think too hard. It’s House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who has more at stake this election cycle than just about anyone not named Trump or Harris. If Democrats win a national majority, Jeffries would be in line to make history as the first Black speaker of the House.
He’s raised huge amounts of money to make it happen. That includes a staggering $21.8 million for his individual campaign account, which he’s used to support the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and individual candidates around the country. It’s over $4 million more than current House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, the No. 2 fundraiser.
FEC records show Jeffries’ campaign has thousands of individual contributors from across the nation. He’s also received contributions from hundreds of committees controlled by labor unions and special special interest groups — which includes names like CVS Health, SEIU, Deloitte, BlackRock and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, better known as AIPAC.
Aside from Jeffries, two other members of New York state's House delegation cracked the list of top 10 fundraisers this cycle: Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of the North Country ($14 million) and Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of the Bronx ($13.3 million), who both have significant national profiles.
The bill for two Long Island races: $37.5 million so far
There are two key House races on Long Island: The battle for the Suffolk County-based 1st District between GOP Rep. Nick LaLota and Democrat John Avlon, and D’Esposito’s rematch against Gillen, the former Hempstead supervisor, in the 4th District.
So far, the Gillen-D’Esposito race has proven to be more expensive — clocking in around $27 million.
As the incumbent, D’Esposito’s campaign spending has received recent media scrutiny. A story from CNN raised questions about why his campaign spent more than $102,000 on food and beverages, including more than $23,000 at steakhouses, bars and liquor stores.
“The last time I checked, nobody wants to go to political fundraisers at a fast food restaurant. So you need to spend money in order to raise money,” D’Esposito told Gothamist. He said he needed to cultivate new donors to make a successful run in a very competitive district, “and that's what it takes to do it.”
Aside from the races in the Hudson Valley and Long Island, the other competitive New York race comes in central New York. That’s where first-term Republican Rep. Brandon Williams is trying to hang on in a race against Democratic state Sen. John Mannion.
Brigid Bergin contributed reporting.
This story has been updated to correct Kamal Patel’s company and position.
Tagged
new york state
Politics
Jon Campbell
Jon Campbell covers the New York State Capitol for WNYC and Gothamist. Prior to that, he covered the Capitol for more than a decade for the USA TODAY Network. He has twice earned the Walter T. Brown Memorial Award, an honor given annually by the Legislative Correspondents Association alumni for outstanding state government coverage. Jon grew up in the Buffalo area and graduated from the University at Albany. Got a tip? Email Jon at [email protected] or Signal at JonCampbellNY.90.
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