New York Democrats flex fundraising strength in House races

NEW YORK — Battleground House Democratic candidates enjoyed a strong fundraising quarter in New York, despite troubles at the top of their ticket.

Several such candidates are flush with cash, and all have been fundraising competitively against their Republican rivals, according to new campaign finance filings covering April through June.

With $3.5 million on hand, front-line Democrat Rep. Pat Ryan has nearly five times more than his GOP challenger Alison Esposito in the race for the Hudson Valley seat.

Upstate, challenger Josh Riley’s campaign war chest is $4 million to incumbent Rep. Marc Molinaro ’s $2.3 million.

And Laura Gillen of Long Island and Mondaire Jones of the Hudson Valley have hundreds of thousands of dollars more to spend than their opponents Reps. Anthony D’Esposito and Mike Lawler , respectively.

But money doesn’t ensure victory.

Democrats outraised the GOP in 2022, but four New York House districts were still swept up in the red wave that year, including Lawler unseating then-Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, head of the House Democrats’ campaign arm.

Down-ballot races stand to be further shaped by Republican unity over the assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s life Saturday and simmering skepticism over President Joe Biden’s viability.

“Democrats up and down the ballot are floundering because they implemented Joe Biden’s disastrous border and economic policies that are wreaking havoc on New Yorkers,” Savannah Viar, spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement. “As last year indicated, no amount of money can cover up bad candidates or bad policies, and this year will be no different.”

About six House races throughout the Empire State may well determine whether Democrats can retake the gavel as many in the party anticipate a Trump victory in November.

Many GOP freshmen are urging unity as they convene in Milwaukee for their nominating convention days after Trump survived the gunman’s attack in Pennsylvania. Lawler and D’Esposito among the battleground New York Republicans in attendance.

Nearly every Democratic candidate in the state’s swing districts, meanwhile, has been distancing themselves from Biden, their responses to questions about the president curt, muted and noncommittal. Ryan, elected in 2022, is among the handful of Democratic House members around the country to call on Biden to withdraw from the race for the sake of the country.

New York Democrats’ fundraising strength has been a bright spot for the party.

“New York Republicans are losing the cash dash by an embarrassing amount because voters and grassroots donors across the Empire State are increasingly fed up with their blatantly extreme efforts to restrict abortion, play politics with the border, and defund law enforcement,” said Ellie Dougherty, spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Democratic challengers like Jones, Gillen and Riley have been outraising GOP incumbents for multiple consecutive quarters, proving, their campaigns said, that the seats are ripe for flipping.

Between the start of April and the end of June, Jones reported $1.64 million raised to Lawler’s $1.56 raised; Gillen had $1.9 million to D’Esposito’s $1.1 million; and Riley had nearly $1.9 million to Molinaro’s $911,000.

Lawler, D’Esposito and Molinaro have responded that their rivals’ fundraising prowess reveals more about the Democrats’ connections to deep-pocketed donors across the country than how well they’re performing in the New York districts.

Meanwhile, Democrat John Avlon outraised GOP Rep. Nick LaLota on Long Island in the past three months but found himself with $597,000 cash on hand to LaLota’s $2.2 million after a bruising Democratic primary, according to their filings.

And similarly, upstate Democrat John Mannion — a new addition to the DCCC’s Red to Blue program — must rebuild his war chest from the $341,000 reported in his latest financial report after his primary. He was outraised by Republican Rep. Brandon Williams in the year’s second quarter. Williams has nearly $1.4 million cash on hand.