Outside groups spend millions to influence state legislative races

It’s Election Day across the nation, and as groups spend monster amounts on battleground congressional races in New York, outside spending has gone big on state legislative races, too. About a month before the election, spending by super PACs in New York seemed to be down, but spending skyrocketed in the last stretch of the election in key swing districts around the state. Democrats currently control supermajorities in both the state Senate and Assembly, but that margin is thin as they defend against Republican challengers who hope to break that veto-proof majority. Although the state Legislature has not used the power since gaining those supermajorities, the numbers give Democratic leaders leverage against the Executive Chamber – leverage they stand to lose if Republicans perform well today.

After spending heavily in many competitive primary races, a number of different independent expenditure committees representing a range of interests are seeking to influence the general election today. Spending has not quite reached the heights of the past, like in 2020 when a conservative billionaire pumped millions into ads attacking newly-elected Democrats, but many super PACs have still shelled out big time for their candidates. Here are some of the groups spending the most on state legislative races there year:

New York State Association of Realtors

The campaign arm of the realtor trade group is spending big to protect legislative incumbents from challengers on both sides of the aisle. In total, the group dropped close to $1 million across six different races around the state. The largest sum was nearly $307,000 in support of state Sen. James Skoufis, who faces a tough reelection for the 42nd state Senate District in the Hudson Valley after a close 2022 race. The state Association of Realtors is the only group spending on the Skoufis race, so the support is surely welcome. 

That group is also spending more than $262,000 to back Staten Island state Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton. She won an open seat last cycle, and though she’s well positioned to win a second term, the first reelection is usually among the toughest. In the only Assembly race the group is weighing in on, it’s spending about $187,000 in support of Assembly Member Monica Wallace, who represents the 143rd Assembly District in Western New York. The final Democratic candidate the realtors are supporting is state Sen. Iwen Chu in Brooklyn’s 17th state Senate District. 

The group is also backing two Republican incumbents on Long Island: state Sen. Jack Martins in Nassau County and state Sen. Anthony Palumbo in Suffolk County. The realtors spent over $237,000 between the two candidates, who are fending off Democratic challengers who are looking to gain ground on Long Island after years of Republican victories at all levels of government.

Charter school interests

As usual, charter school groups are trying to leverage their influence in state races. City & State previously reported on $345,000 in digital ads that New Yorkers for a Balanced Albany spent backing state Sens. Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, Monica Martinez and Scarcella-Spanton. But the group, associated with the charter school advocacy organization Students First New York, has since increased its spending. By Election Day, it had spent an additional $380,000, bringing its total spending to $725,000. The group spent the most on Scarcella-Spanton, with $250,000 on mail and digital support for the first-term Democrat. Martinez, a Long Island Democrat trying for a second time to win a second term, was their second biggest source of spending at $200,000. And Reichlin-Melnick, the Hudson Valley Democrat trying to win back the seat he lost in 2022, got a $150,000 boost from the charter school group in the form of independent expenditures.

New Yorkers for a Balanced Albany also spent $25,000 each on state Sen. Nathalia Fernandez and Assembly candidates Emerita Torres and Chris McCreight. Neither Torres nor Fernandez face competitive general elections, while McCreight is challenging Republican Assembly Member Alec Brooky-Krasny in southern Brooklyn. The group also dropped $50,000 to back Assembly Member Stacey Pheffer Amato in Queens, who narrowly won reelection in 2022 and now faces a tough rematch against her Republican opponent.

Moving New York Families Forward, another pro-charter school committee funded by many of the same donors as New Yorkers for a Balanced Albany, has weighed in on the general election after spending on this year’s primaries. This group spent less overall than New Yorkers for Balanced Albany but still dropped a fair amount, with over $377,000 dispersed on races around the state. The group spent the most on Democratic Assembly candidate Joey Saban, who is taking on Republican Assembly Member Michael Novakhov in southern Brooklyn. The seat had long been held by Democrats until Novakhov won a surprise landslide victory in 2022, and Saban is the underdog in the race.

Moving New York Families Forward is also backing Democratic Assembly Members Stefani Zinerman, who is not facing a competitive election, and Gina Silliti, who faces a real challenge on Long Island, as well as Democratic Assembly candidates Chloe Pierce in the Albany area and Rebecca Kassay in Suffolk County. When it comes to the state Senate, the group is backing Chu in Brooklyn.

Union spending

Through its associated independent expenditure committee New Yorkers Together, CWA District 1 has spent to influence two tight state Senate races. In Central New York, the union has dropped almost $300,000 on ads opposing Republican state Senate candidate Nick Paro for the 50th State Senate District. He’s running against Democrat Chris Ryan, who currently serves as both the president of CWA Local 1123 and was previously the minority leader of the Onondaga County Legislature. The seat opened up when state Sen. John Mannion decided to run for Congress. The fact that Mannion only won reelection by 10 votes in 2022 makes the seat a prime pickup opportunity for Republicans, who outnumber Democrats in the district in the voter rolls. So Democrats and the likes of CWA are trying hard to keep the seat blue. 

The union is also spending to unseat Republican Rep. Rob Rolison in the Poughkeepsie-area 39th State Senate District. They dropped just over $200,000 on ads attacking Rolison. The district leans Democratic and it was something of a surprise when Rolison won the open seat in 2022. Democrats are hoping to remedy that this year by running Yvette Valdes-Smith, who serves as the minority leader of the Dutchess County Legislature.

Valdes-Smith, a former teacher, is also the beneficiary of super PAC spending by a committee associated with New York State United Teachers. The group Progress NYS spent $250,000 on digital ads in support of the Hudson Valley Democrat, including production costs. It also spent $80,000 backing Ryan in Central New York, including production costs.

As City & State previously reported, the New York City Police Benevolent Association spent $200,000 to support Pheffer Amato, who chairs the Committee on Governmental Employees. She has supported legislation that would benefit public employees including police officers, which plays a role in the union’s support now as she faces a tough election. The PBA has also spent to back two more Democrats facing competitive elections: $30,000 on Chu in Brooklyn and $37,000 on Scarcella-Spanton on Staten Island.

League of Conservation Voters

The environmental group is weighing in on a handful of state races this year, spending a little under $177,000 across three districts. The bulk of that cash is being spent on ads attacking Brook-Krasny in Brooklyn and Assembly Member Brian Curran on Long Island. Curran is fending off a challenge from Democrat Judy Griffin, who had previously bested him to win the seat in 2018, and whom he defeated to win the seat back in 2022. The group also spent a smaller amount in support of Democratic state Sen. Lea Webb in the Southern Tier.

Nassau Homeowners United

This super PAC is tied to the Long Island law firm Maidenbaum and Sternberg LLP and its associated tax assessment firm Maidenbaum, whose partners are the only donors to the committee. Property taxes are a major issue in Nassau County, though one that usually plays out at the level of local government. The committee has spent exclusively to keep Silliti, the moderate Democratic Assembly member, in office. Nassau Homeowners United spent over $161,000 on mailers and digital ads in support of her and has not spent anything in any other races.