It’s off to the races in this year’s congressional elections.  The only problem is no one knows what their districts will look like.

When we last left this story, the New York Court of Appeals had determined that the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) should update their work to set the lines for the districts that would be used from 2024 through 2030.  They would report the plans and the state Legislature would have the option of accepting or rejecting the new districts.

The problem is that we are now into February.  Nominating petitions for congressional, state legislative, and local elections will hit the streets on February 27th.  The IRC has not publicly released any of their work.  Congressional candidates and members of the Legislature may be getting a bit anxious.

While they await that essential information candidates for Congress have another task at hand:  raising money — hundreds of thousands of dollars.  That activity proceeds while the re-districting work lingers.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) requires the filing of campaign financials by federal candidates on a quarterly basis, with the most recent reports due on January 31.  Here is a summary concerning candidates who have committees in the current Western New York districts:

26th District (portions of Erie and Niagara counties)

• Democrat Tim Kennedy, who announced his candidacy for Congress on November 14th, continues to demonstrate his fundraising prowess. He reported raising $744,903. A total of $680,003 came in individual contributions, many being for $3,300, the limit for an individual contribution. $64,900 came from other committee contributions, such as PACs. Kennedy for Congress spent $32,902 thus far. Total cash on hand is $712,001. Kennedy also has a joint fundraising committee with Tom Suozzi who is running in NY3.
• Potential Democratic candidates Nate McMurray and Mohammed Jahangir Alam did not have reports on file as of February 1.  A potential write-in candidate, James Paul Speaker, did not have a report on file either.
• No Republican has a committee on file for the district at this time.
• Since there may be a special, primary, and general election in NY26 this year, an individual could potentially max out at $9,900 in contributions to a candidate running in all three elections.
• Newly retired Congressman Brian Higgins reported raising $623,427 in 2023, although only $1,314 was raised in the last quarter of the year when his expected resignation became news.  Total 2023 disbursements were $628,543, with $208,042 of the total being spent between October and December.  His cash on hand is $788,228.

23rd District (portion of Erie County, plus all of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Schuyler, and Steuben counties)

• Incumbent Republican Congressman Nick Langworthy reports that he has raised $871,208 in 2023, which includes $172,179 in the fourth quarter.  Individual contributions over the course of the year totaled $418,541 while $374,240 came from other committees such as PACs.  He also received $73,911 in transfers from other authorized committees.  Langworthy’s committee spent $302,410 during the year, which includes $60,152 in the last quarter.  His cash on hand is $659,267.
• A Democrat, Thomas Carle, has a committee on record but did not have a report on file as of February 1.

24th District (portion of eastern Niagara County plus parts of eleven other counties up to Watertown)

• Incumbent Republican Congresswoman Claudia Tenney’s report shows $1,161,126 raised in 2023, including $377,832 in the fourth quarter.  Contributions from individuals totaled $636,912 for the year.  She spent $913,648 during 2023 , leaving her committee with a cash on hand balance of $428,791.
• Two Republicans are listed as having committees for a race in NY24.  Mario Fratto had $236 on hand at the end of September; Phillip Gioia also has a committee.
• Democrat David Wagenhauser has a committee with cash on hand of $5,287 as of December 31st.

U.S. Senate

• Senator Kristen Gillibrand is running for a third full term.  She originally was appointed to the seat in 2009 by Governor David Paterson, filling the vacancy created when Hillary Clinton resigned to become Secretary of State.  Gillibrand has $9,191,548 in her campaign treasury at the end of 2023, having raised $11,299,461 and spent $12,423,315 during 2023.
• Three other Democrats are listed as having FEC committees in the 2024 election for the Senate.
• There are four Republicans with committees listed for the seat at this time.  One of them, Joshua Eisen, has $208,335 on hand.
• There is also an independent candidate on file, Diane Wilson Sare, who has a cash balance of $10,419.

The amount of money detailed here for just three New York congressional district plus the Senate seat is mind-boggling.  It all demonstrates how much time a candidate must spend dialing for dollars, which leaves a lot less time for legislating and talking about issues.  And remember the money noted here is only from 2023, the year before the election.  Stay tuned.

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