Outside money shapes NY-22 primary race. Which candidates are getting super PAC support?
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The boundaries are different, but New York’s 22nd Congressional District appears set for another hotly contested election.
With U.S. Rep. John Katko, R-Camillus, retiring and U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-New Hartford, choosing to run in the state’s Republican-friendly 24th Congressional District, the seat is wide open. As a result, hundreds of thousands of dollars in political action committee money is coming to Central New York.
The flow of outside money is coming to two candidates ahead of the Aug. 23 primaries: Republican Steve Wells and Democrat Francis Conole.
Conole and Wells also lead the field in fundraising outside of super PAC money. They’ve been selected as the “best guess” nominees by political analysis website FiveThirtyEight for its congressional predictive model.
Conole has benefitted to the tune of $476,393 from the Protect Our Future PAC, which was formed earlier this year with the stated goal of preparing for and preventing another pandemic. The committee has received nearly all of its funding — $27 million — from Samuel Bankman-Fried, the founder and CEO of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange.
NY22: Democratic candidates talk Oneida County challenges, priorities
NY22:GOP candidates talk Oneida County challenges, priorities
The contributions in support of Conole, who is in a four-way primary with Sarah Klee Hood, Chol Majok and Sam Roberts, are tied to media ad buys, ad production and direct mail. The ad buy makes up more than half the contribution, at $250,230, with $11,530 for ad production and the remainder for direct mail.
A more traditional super PAC is backing Wells over his primary opponent, Brandon Williams, in the Congressional Leadership Fund. The PAC, which focuses on winning a Republican majority in the House of Representatives, has chipped in $318,566 to benefit Wells.
It’s not the first time the Congressional Leadership Fund has waded into Utica-area national politics. The group ran ads in support of Tenney and against her opponent, former U.S. Rep. Anthony Brindisi, in 2018 and 2020.
Media placement made up the bulk of the committee’s contribution, with $296,800. Smaller amounts for direct mail ($11,808) and media production ($9,958) were also contributed in support of Wells.
New York’s 22nd Congressional District primary fundraising
It’s not just super PACs donating to the local primary, however. The bulk of most candidates’ direct fundraising still comes in the form of individual contributions. Below are the latest Federal Elections Commission filing information for all six candidates in New York’s 22nd Congressional District primary, arranged by total receipts.
Francis Conole, Democrat
Total Receipts: $1.07 million
Total individual contributions: $952,850
Total disbursements: $765,843
Top three expenditures: Global Strategy Group (polling) $38,500; Sole Strategies (field consulting and canvassing) $32,620; Ralston Lapp Media (ad production) $26,571
Cash on hand: $306,143
Steve Wells, GOP
Total receipts: 690,838
Total individual contributions: $274,516
Total disbursements: $462,887
Top three expenditures: Honold Communications (media production) $150,253; Honold Communications (media production) $120,250; Honold Communications (media production) $49,425
Cash on hand: $227,952
Brandon Williams, GOP
Total receipts: $214,202
Total individual contributions: $201,486
Total disbursements: $78,232
Top three expenditures: Strategic Impact (teletown hall, text message service) $6,850; Michael Gordon (campaign manager) $6,500; Jeffrey Buley (legal services) $5,000
Cash on hand: $135,970
Sarah Klee Hood, Democrat
Total receipts: $132,649
Total individual contributions: $96,269
Total disbursements: $114,167
Top three expenditures: CFO Compliance LLC (compliance and database services) $7,616; Skyway Enterprises (strategic consulting services) $7,200; Run the World Digital (digital consulting services) $7,000
Cash on hand: $18,482
Sam Roberts, Democrat
Total receipts: $117,065
Total individual contributions: $100,139
Total disbursements: $58,865
Top three expenditures: Tuesday Digital LLC (digital video and clip services) $9,500; NYS Democratic Committee (voter file access) $8,500; U.S.P.S. (campaign mailer) $8,452
Cash on hand: $58,200
Chol Majok, Democrat
Total receipts: $30,903
Total individual contributions: $30,403
Total disbursements: $6,304
Top three expenditures: Durty Design (t-shirt expense) $796; Arograph (campaign literature) $594; Durty Design (campaign literature) $500
Cash on hand: $24,599
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: In NY-22 Congressional District race, candidates see super PAC support
