WASHINGTON -- Dana Balter outspent Rep. John Katko by almost $300,000 in the final weeks of her unsuccessful campaign in the 24th Congressional District, according to new disclosure reports.
Balter, a Syracuse Democrat, spent $932,507 compared to $654,728 for Katko, R-Camillus, for the period from Oct. 18 through Nov. 26, according to reports the campaigns filed Thursday with the Federal Election Commission.
All told, Katko still outspent Balter for the full campaign, the records show.
Katko spent almost $3 million to win election to a third term. Balter, making her first bid for public office, spent $2,679,901.
Balter began the campaign as a longshot candidate whose party backed Juanita Perez Williams in a primary. But she ultimately showed she could go toe-to-toe with Katko when it came to raising money.
Balter refused to take corporate donations from political action committees and made campaign finance reform a centerpiece of her agenda.
In the end, she raised more money than Katko in the final weeks of the campaign -- $366,857 to $241,924.
For the full campaign, Katko had only a small edge: He raised $2,775,873 to $2,735,634 for Balter.
Katko won the election by six percentage points (52-46 percent) or about 15,000 votes, according to unofficial election results from the state Board of Elections. The total does not include absentee and affidavit ballots.
The board will meet Dec. 14 to certify the election and report the final vote count.
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