Katko outraises Democratic opponents in 4th quarter

Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.) outpaced his three Democratic challengers in fundraising for the fourth quarter of 2015.

Katko, the incumbent congressman in the race, raised $281,414 in the fourth quarter, which stretched from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31. The filing deadline for the fourth quarter was midnight Sunday.

On the Democratic side, Syracuse University alumna Colleen Deacon outraised her two opponents to challenge Katko in November to represent New York state’s 24th Congressional District, of which Syracuse is a part.

With about nine months until Election Day, Katko’s campaign has $885,897 cash on hand, according to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings. About 79 percent of the contributors to his campaign were from New York state, according to a Katko press release, and his contributions came from 547 different donors. Individual donation amounts do not yet appear on the FEC website.

Deacon, filing her campaign finance for the first time, raised $131,721 in the fourth quarter. At the third quarter filing deadline, Deacon was not required to file a campaign finance report because she had only entered the race earlier in October. Democratic New York state Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s Political Action Committee, Off The Sidelines, gave $10,000 to Deacon’s campaign. Deacon was Gillibrand’s central New York regional director for six years.

While no official polls have been released in the race, Deacon has recently received the endorsement of Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner and EMILY’s List, a PAC that works to get Democratic female candidates elected to office.

Syracuse University Professor Eric Kingson raised about half of what he did in the third quarter, reporting $45,981 in net contributions to the FEC. The social work professor raised $101,301 in the third quarter. Kingson ended the fourth quarter with $73,561 cash on hand, according to FEC filings.

Steve Williams, the third candidate to enter the Democratic race, raised $152,320 during the fourth quarter. Like Deacon, it was the first quarter Williams had to release a campaign finance report for.

While Katko will be running on the Republican ticket, the nominee on the Democratic side will be determined in the coming months, but could be sooner as, according to the Auburn Citizen, the Onondaga County Democratic Committee will hold its endorsement vote on Feb. 11. If there were to be a primary, it would be held June 28, according to the paper.

The first quarter goes until March 31 with a filing deadline of April 15.