National News

Cuomo campaign topped $34M

Colonie

Posted Updated

By
DAVID LOMBARDO
, Albany Times

Colonie

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's campaign spent more than $34.3 million this year to win the Democratic nomination and secure a third term in office, according to filings with the state Board of Elections.

The two-term incumbent enjoyed a significant fundraising advantage over his main rivals: Democratic hopeful Cynthia Nixon spent less than $2.6 million and Republican nominee Marc Molinaro invested about $2.4 million. Cuomo won the primary by a margin of more than 30 percent, and collected 58 percent of the vote on Election Day.

Based on the 1 million primary votes and 3.35 million Election Day ballots he received, Cuomo spent a little less than $8 per vote to secure his next term. By comparison, Molinaro spent about $1.15 for each of his 2.09 million votes on Election Day.

In January, the governor had reported a campaign balance of $31.1 million, while Molinaro began the year with a single $100 contribution. Cuomo ended up raising more than $8.9 million during the year.

The governor's campaign fund still holds more than $5 million. It's unclear if he will seek a fourth term in 2022.

The price tag for control of the Senate, which flipped into Dem- ocratic hands last month, exceeded $16 million, based on filings from the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee and in 13 competitive campaigns. Spending by Senate Republicans, who ended up losing eight seats, topped $20 million.

More than $10 million in independent spending by special interests favored the Senate Democrats.

Expenditures by the campaigns in the three most expensive Senate races on Long Island topped $6.7 million, while the two candidates for an open Hudson Valley seat committed more than $2.7 million.

In the Capital Region, more than $1.1 million was spent by the two candidates vying to replace retiring Republican Sen. Kathy Marchione.

Past elections for this post, which Republican Daphne Jordan won by about 8 percentage points, haven't attracted nearly that much money. In order to hold the seat, though, the Senate Republican Campaign Committee transferred $424,000 to Jordan's campaign, which represented more than two-thirds of her fundraising.

A handful of incumbents who weren't re-elected still have substantial resources left to spend. Two former members of the Senate's Independent Democratic Conference who lost primary challenges, Jeff Klein and David Valesky, still have $392,281 and $355,612 left in the bank, respectively. Republican Sen. Kemp Hannon, whose Election Day loss was a surprise, still has $162,693 left to spend. Hannon transferred more than $259,000 back to the Senate Republicans in the weeks before the election. Republican Sen. John DeFrancisco, who didn't run for another term, has $1.37 million in his campaign account.

David.Lombardo(at)timesunion.com - 518-454-5427 - Twitter: (at)poozer87

Copyright 2024 Albany Times Union. All rights reserved