The cost of winning elections
Last year 95 percent of incumbent New York State legislators successfully ran for reelection. A third of Western New York’s Albany delegation ran unopposed, and all but a few faced scant opposition in districts designed to favor one party or another. Despite that, the successful candidates raised and spent a great deal of money on their campaigns — particularly on TV and radio ads, as well as printing, postage, and contributions to other candidates and political committees. Ken Kruly, Investigative Post researcher and publisher of Politics and Other Stuff, examined campaign spending over the past two-year election cycle by the 16 Western New Yorkers who won state Senate and Assembly seats in November to determine the cost of doing political business in the region.
The cost of winning
| Winning candidate, district | Spent | Votes | Cost per vote |
| Monica Wallace (D); Assembly-143 | $ 527,968 | 35,201 | $ 15.00 |
| Karen McMahon (D); A-146 | $ 317,878 | 38,085 | $ 8.35 |
| Sean Ryan (D); Senate- 60 | $ 701,903 | 91,008 | $ 7.71 |
| Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D); A-141 * | $ 259,118 | 42,587 | $ 6.08 |
| Pat Burke (D); A-142 | $ 156,167 | 36,752 | $ 4.25 |
| Tim Kennedy (D); S-63 | $ 384,991 | 95,417 | $ 4.03 |
| Bill Conrad (D); A-140 | $ 137,986 | 35,612 | $ 3.87 |
| Edward Rath (R); S-61 | $ 264,605 | 79,454 | $ 3.33 |
| Jonathan Rivera (D); A-149 | $ 86,904 | 38,585 | $ 2.25 |
| Pat Gallivan (R); S-59 | $ 226,728 | 106,057 | $ 2.14 |
| Angelo Morinello (R); A-145 * | $ 71,926 | 44,255 | $ 1.63 |
| Michael Norris (R); A-144 * | $ 83,807 | 54,375 | $ 1.54 |
| Robert Ortt (R); S- 62 * | $ 105,999 | 101,883 | $ 1.04 |
| David DiPietro (R); A-147 * | $ 57,400 | 56,854 | $ 1.01 |
| Andrew Goodell (R); A-150 | $ 37,606 | 39,593 | $ 0.95 |
| George Borrello (R); S-57 | $ 33,585 | 87,934 | $ 0.38 |
| * ran unopposed |
Talking Points
- The 16 Western New Yorkers who won seats in the New York State Legislature in November spent a combined $3,454,511 on their campaigns. That’s an average of $215,911.
- State Senator George Borrello (R-Chautauqua) spent the least, $33,585. State Senator Sean Ryan (D-Buffalo) spent the most, $701,903.
- Ryan’s total includes his campaign’s contribution of $252,908 to the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee. That’s the most any of the nine candidates who kicked back to a party committee.
- Four candidates were recipients of money from Albany campaign committees. Assemblywoman Monica Wallace got the most help, $382,600. Three candidates neither received nor donated to their respective statewide committees.
- In terms of dollars per vote, Borrello was the most efficient campaigner, at 38 cents per vote, followed by Andrew Goddell (95 cents) and David DiPietro, who ran unopposed, ($1.01). Wallace spent the most, at $15 per vote, followed by Karen McMahon ($8.35) and Ryan ($7.71)
- Five winning candidates were unopposed for re-election: Senator Robert Ortt, and Assembly Members Crystal Peoples-Stokes, Michael Norris, Angelo Morinello and David DiPietro. Nonetheless, they spent $578,250, for an average of $115,650.
- Those unopposed candidates received an average of 75 percent of the total votes cast in their districts. That means one in four voters in those districts didn’t bother to fill in the circle next to the unopposed candidate’s name.
- Among the 11 candidates who had opponents, the average winning vote margin was 60 percent, ranging from 79 percent (state Senator Tim Kennedy) to 50 percent (Wallace).
Podcast
Ken and Geoff Kelly examine the price of running for a state Legislature seat, as well as what the most recent campaign finance filings portend for this year’s races for Erie County Sheriff and Erie County Comptroller.
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