Balter outraises Katko by more than $1 million

Democratic congressional candidate Dana Balter outraised incumbent Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus) by more than $1 million between July 1 and Sept. 30, 2018, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission by both campaigns this week.

Balter, a political newcomer and former Syracuse University professor, raised more than $1.5 million in the third quarter of 2018, according to FEC filings. Katko raised slightly more than $480,000, per the filings.

Balter is challenging Katko for control of New York’s 24th Congressional District, which includes Syracuse. July to September 2018 marked Balter’s best fundraising quarter since launching her campaign in September 2017.

Katko entered October with about $930,000 on hand, while Balter’s campaign had more than $885,000 on hand as of Sept. 30. Katko’s campaign had roughly $1.5 million more than Balter’s campaign at the end of the second quarter 2018.

Until this summer, Balter had trailed Katko in fundraising in every quarter since she launched her campaign. The third quarter began just days after Balter won the Democratic congressional primary in June.

Most of Balter’s fundraising came from individual donors, FEC data shows. About 70 percent of contributions to Balter’s campaign from individual donors who gave more than $200 each. Just over 7 percent of contributions came from political action committees, including Nancy Pelosi’s PAC to the Future and New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “Cuomo NY Take Back the House” PAC.

About 30 percent of Katko’s contributions came from individual donors, according to FEC filings. Just over half of contributions to Katko’s campaign in the third quarter 2018 were from political action committees, including Protect the House, a joint fundraising committee created by Vice President Mike Pence and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

Balter raised just under half of her funds in the third quarter of 2018 from out-of-state donors who contributed more than $200, according to FEC data. About 13 percent of Katko’s fundraising came from out-of-state donors who contributed more than $200.
Though Balter raised more money than Katko between July 1 and Sept. 30, Katko spent over $388,000 more than the Democratic challenger. Most of Katko’s more than $1.1 million in spending went to media production and advertising, according to FEC filings. Balter spent $472,609 — more than half of her $772,056 in third quarter 2018 spending — on media advertising and production, according to FEC filings.