Money In Politics:
Largest Biden, DNC donors from WNY
Published October 27, 2020
Joseph Biden’s presidential campaign is being funded primarily through his campaign committee and the Democratic National Committee, which is also directing money to Democratic Senate and House candidates. Ken Kruly, Investigative Post researcher and publisher of Politics and Other Stuff, compiled contributions from residents of Erie, Niagara and Chautauqua counties that were reported to the Federal Elections Commission from April 2019, when Biden established his election committee, and from April of this year when the DNC aligned with the Biden campaign.
- A companion post detailing local contributions to the campaign of Donald Trump can be found here.
- Jim Heaney discusses campaign contributions on WGRZ with Michael Wooten.
- Heaney discusses campaign contributions with David Bellavia on WBEN.
The numbers: Largest local donors
| Name | Location | Amount |
| Edmund and Mary Egan | Amherst | $ 90,000 |
| George and Bodil Gellman | Amherst, Florida | $ 11,200 |
| Curtis Colopy | East Aurora | $ 5,600 |
| Faizan Haq | Williamsville | $ 5,600 |
| Alexandra McPherson | East Aurora | $ 5,600 |
| Emily Frieden | Williamsville | $ 4,800 |
| Eduardo Heumann | Getzville | $ 4,000 |
| Robert Ciesielski | Buffalo | $ 3,650 |
| Barbara Baird | Buffalo | $ 3,300 |
| Angelo Conti | Buffalo | $ 3,225 |
| Joe Nickell | West Amherst | $ 3,050 |
| Kim Griswold | Buffalo | $ 3,006 |
| Nancy Colligan | Buffalo | $ 3,000 |
| Jason Clement | Buffalo | $ 2,900 |
| Joseph Dinardo | Williamsville | $ 2,825 |
| Paul Cody | Clarence | $ 2,800 |
| Susan Kempf | Clarence | $ 2,800 |
| James Eagan | Orchard Park | $ 2,800 |
| Brian Baird | Buffalo | $ 2,800 |
| Diane Bennett | Williamsville | $ 2,800 |
| Eli Farhi | Williamsville | $ 2,800 |
| Kenneth Hiller | Williamsville | $ 2,800 |
| Fidelma Fitzpatrick | Buffalo | $ 2,800 |
| Kathryn Friedman | Buffalo | $ 2,800 |
| Christine Sabuda | Buffalo | $ 2,800 |
Talking Points
- Biden’s campaign committee and the DNC received 108 local contributions of $1,000 or more, totalling $287,473. Those contributions are considerably less than Trump’s, due in part because the president has been fundraising for a much longer period of time than Biden.
- With donations totalling $90,000, Edmund and Mary Egan – he, a physician – are the largest local contributors to Biden and the DNC.
- George and Bodil Gellman – he, the retired CEO of the Benchmark Group – donated $11,200 to the Biden for President Committee from their Amherst and Florida addresses. George Gellman also donated $40,000 to the DNC from his Florida address prior to the party rallying behind Biden; that donation is not included in this analysis.
- Next in line, with donations of $5,600, were Curtis Colopy, general manager of a local manufacturing concern; and Faizan Haq, an academic; and Alexandra McPherson, an environmentalist.
- Physicians, attorneys and college faculty were among the leading large dollar donors to the Biden campaign. This compares with many Trump donors who listed their occupation as retired or being in business.
- Elected officials who donated to the Biden campaign and DNC in the $1,000 range include Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and Delaware Common Council Member Joel Feroleto.
- Zip codes with the most contributions include:
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- 14226, Amherst, including Snyder and Eggertsville, $102,825.
- 14221, Williamsville, $25,626.
- 14222 Buffalo’s Elmwood Village, $18,585.
- 14214 Buffalo neighborhoods including Parkside, Central Park and University Heights, $16,000.
- 14209 Buffalo, from north of the Medical Campus to Delavan Avenue, $14,324.
Podcast
Ken Kruly and Jim Heaney discuss local contributions to the Trump and Biden campaigns.
Listen to Podcast