WASHINGTON Outside groups have poured more than $1.2 million into the
race for Congress in New York's 26th district, with more money yet to come in
what's become a contest with national ramifications.
The Center for Responsive Politics reported that $1.2 million figure
Tuesday by tallying up independent expenditures reported to the Federal
Election Commission.
Money spent by conservative interests account for about two-thirds of this
sum, which is all but assured to increase significantly between now and
Election Day next Tuesday, the center said on its OpenSecrets blog.
Most notably of all, the National Republican Congressional Committee spent
$424,680 for survey research and media advertising aimed at benefiting
Assemblywoman Jane Corwin of Clarence, the GOP candidate.
And American Crossroads, a political committee co-founded by Karl Rove,
longtime political aide to President George W. Bush, threw in $368,886 for
television and online ads. That group has said it could spend nearly $300,000
more attacking Democrat Kathleen C. Hochul and Tea Party candidate Jack
Davis.
On the other side of the aisle, the Democratic Congressional Campaign
Committee spent $266,745 on advertising.
The Communications Workers of America Working Voices political paid $75,000
for printed materials, and the political committee of the Service Employees
International Union paid $59,750 on canvassing work on behalf of Hochul.
Those groups buy ads and work independently from the campaigns themselves,
meaning the ads the group purchases are essentially aimed at roughing up
candidates the groups don't like.
Meanwhile, though, the campaigns themselves are raising and spending huge
sums, too.
Corwin is the best-off of the three. She raised nearly $2.9 million with
about $2.46 million of it coming out of her own pocket.
Davis has been almost as much of a big spender, pouring $2.1 million of his
own money into the race and, intentionally, not raising a single dime.
As for Hochul, the FEC reports show a significant increase in her
fundraising.
Through Monday, she had raised $928,750 up from $576,748 as of May 4. She
contributed $250,000 of her own personal funds.
-- Jerry Zremski
