| With the 32 day pre-general election filings rolling in, David Nachbar has submitted his filing which shows that he has raised $111,931.64, $74,335.00 of that total coming from individual contributors. Nachbar also spent $255,479.76 mainly due to the two television ads that Nachbar has already put.
Nachbar's opponent, Republican Sen. Jim Alesi, has a large filing with over $706,000 cash on hand. Alesi has benefited greatly from corporate, PACs and special interest donors. While most of Nachbar's money came from individual donors, most of Alesi's came from corporations ($40,150.00), PACs and special interests ($89,800.00) and transfers in from certain committees, like Joe Bruno's ($9,500), Dean Skelos ($9,500) and the Monroe County Republican Committee ($101,982.00).
The Nachbar campaign also saw the difference. In a press release about their filings, they exude a positive attitude about where they are getting their money, what that means for their campaign and what that says about their campaign.
One striking difference in the campaigns is the source of the money raised so far by the candidates. The majority of Alesi's funds come from Political Action Committees, corporations, and Republican Party organizations. The Monroe County Republican Committee, for example, contributetd over $100,000 to the incumbent's campaign. Alesi's TV advertising, coincidentally, is being produced by former County Republican party chair Steve Minarik's advertising firm.
Nachbar's reported donations, in contrast, come almost entirely from individual donors. Nachbar campaign spokesperson Kate Bardsley said, "The nature of the money says a great deal about the nature of the candidates. Dave is proud of the fact that his message is resonating with individuals and working people, who have been unrepresented in State government for too long.
Cash-on-hand figures, which are not directly indicative of relative strength of campaigns, show Alisi with an incumbent's advantage. Alesi, who started the race with over $500k, ended the period with a balance of $706k, while the Nachbar campaign reported just under $80k on hand. The imbalance partly reflects the Nachbar campaign's earlier roll-out of a sizable TV advertising campaign, which involved significant spending outlays. The campaign expects the pace of advertising spending to continue through the election.
While reported financial numbers are important, they never tell the whole story. In Nachbar's case, unnamed State Democratic Party officials asserted that "the party is fully committed to this race."
Among all New York State Senate Democratic candidates on ActBlue, Nachbar has raised the most money, raising $70,127 to date.
Nachbar has shown that he is a great fundraiser among individuals and has received outstanding support from individuals. His ActBlue page proves that.
Make no mistake: Nachbar is in this race. The money does tell one story here. That is the Republicans are investing locally into Alesi because they know Nachbar is a real contender. They wouldn't be giving all that money to Alesi if Nachbar was just a token candidate. Keep that in mind.
ON THE WEB:
David Nachbar's ActBlue Page |
