Overcome swing states: Control of Congress runs through New York – and it costs a lot

What does it cost to win a handful of congressional elections in New York that could help shift the balance of power in Washington?

The answer is $146 million…so far.

Democrats and Republicans have focused on six House districts in the Empire State that may be up for grabs on Election Day. Most of these are located in the New York City suburbs of the Hudson Valley and Long Island.

The political donor class has responded by putting its money where its mouth is, pumping tens of millions of dollars into each race. That money was used to try to influence some of the most influential House of Representatives elections in the country.

Here's a look at key New York congressional races by the numbers.

We are No. 2! The second most expensive race in the country is…

…New York's sprawling 19th District, stretching from the mid-Hudson Valley to Ithaca.

The bitter rematch between Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro and Democratic attorney Josh Riley has drawn about $41 million in spending so far this cycle, Federal Elections Commission filings show.

That's the second-highest total in the country, just behind a House race in California, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks election spending.

A total of 32 outside groups have poured about $27 million into the race and funded a barrage of ads — most of them negative — focusing on immigration, abortion and more.

Elsewhere in the state, the Hudson Valley battle between incumbent Republican Mike Lawler and former Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones is also one of the most expensive races in the country at around $36 million.

So who is funding these six races in New York?

The bulk of the spending — about $90 million — comes from outside groups that are allowed to raise unlimited amounts of money.

Among the largest donors is the Congressional Leadership Fund, a national PAC dedicated to electing Republicans that has spent $25.8 million on the six elections in New York alone. Major donors include Timothy Mellon, a banking heir and major GOP benefactor, and Kenneth Griffin, the CEO of hedge fund Citadel.

The House Majority PAC — a pro-Democratic organization — has spent about $15 million. The largest donor is former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Battleground New York, a Democratic support PAC funded largely by unions, has spent more than $4 million on the six races; It also spent about $1.6 million on Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, who is running again after winning a key special election to replace expelled Republican Rep. George Santos earlier this year. Suozzi faces Republican Michael LiPetri.

In total, 70 different outside groups have spent at least some money trying to influence key races in New York.

That includes groups like Bloomberg's gun safety organization Everytown, which has spent about $1.6 million supporting Democratic candidates or criticizing their Republican opponents, according to the Federal Elections Commission.

On the Republican side, the National Association of Realtors PAC has spent about $2.8 million supporting Lawler and Molinaro.

Two-thirds of the money went to negative ads or efforts directed against a candidate. The remaining third went to positive ads or efforts to support a candidate, according to the documents.

$500,000 each: Wall Street-heavy collective bets are betting big on the New York Democrats

An organized collective of 99 wealthy donors, most of them from the tri-state area, gave three New York Democrats a big boost in the election campaigns.

It's called the House Victory Fund, and its donors collectively gave more than $500,000 each to Jones, Riley and Laura Gillen, a Long Island Democrat challenging Rep. Anthony D'Esposito.

It is a significant part of the change. In all three cases in New York, the fund is listed as the candidates' largest donor, even though it is actually a fundraiser.

The fund raised more than $8 million from individuals this year – more than $6 million of which came from people who provided a New York address. That includes many Wall Street types, including former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and a wide range of financiers, executives and employees of various investment funds, as Politico reported earlier this year.

Other donors who gave to the national fundraiser include Laurie Tisch, whose family owns the New York Giants; Kamal Patel, co-founder of nutrition website Examine.com; philanthropists David and Susan Rockefeller; and Elizabeth Economy of the Hoover Institution.

$21.8 million: The country's top candidate is in…Brooklyn?

New York City is not expected to have a competitive congressional election this year. Why has a representative from Brooklyn raised far more than any other House candidate in the country?

Don't think too much. It is House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries who has more at stake in this election cycle than anyone not named Trump or Harris. If Democrats win a statewide majority, Jeffries would be on track to make history as the first Black speaker of the House.

He raised huge sums of money to make this possible. That includes a staggering $21.8 million for his individual campaign account, which he uses to support the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and individual candidates across the country. That's more than $4 million more than current House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, the second-largest fundraiser.

FEC records show Jeffries' campaign has thousands of individual contributors from across the country. He has also received input from hundreds of committees controlled by unions and special interest groups — including names like CVS Health, SEIU, Deloitte, BlackRock and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, better known as AIPAC.

Aside from Jeffries, two other members of the New York State House of Representatives delegation cracked the list of top 10 fundraisers this cycle: Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of the North Country ($14 million) and Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio -Cortez from the Bronx ($13.3 million). ), both of which have significant national profiles.

The bill for two races on Long Island: so far $37.5 million

There are two important House races on Long Island: the fight for the 1st District in Suffolk County between Republican Nick LaLota and Democrat John Avlon, and D'Esposito's rematch against Gillen, the former Hempstead supervisor, in the 4th District.

So far, the Gillen-D'Esposito race has proven more expensive – costing around $27 million.

As an incumbent, D'Esposito's campaign spending has recently come under media scrutiny. A CNN story raised questions about why his campaign spent more than $102,000 on food and beverages, including more than $23,000 on steakhouses, bars and liquor stores.

“Last time I checked, no one wants to attend political fundraisers at a fast food restaurant. So you have to spend money to raise money,” D’Esposito told Gothamist. He said he needs to attract new donors to be successful in a very competitive district, “and this is what it takes.”

In addition to the Hudson Valley and Long Island races, the other competitive New York race takes place in Central New York. There, Republican Representative Brandon Williams is trying to survive in his first term in the race against Democratic Senator John Mannion.

Brigid Bergin contributed reporting.