Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) With Congressman Brian Higgins set to vacate his seat in the House of Representatives in early 2024, the time is coming for possible NY-26 successors to get their finances in order.
Three names have been prominently mentioned for the party nomination next year.
State Sen. Tim Kennedy, the only declared candidate. Also, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.
Ken Kruly of PoliticsandStuff.com said all three have existing political accounts from previous campaigns. But they are state campaigns and Kruly said the rules are different at the federal level.
According to Kruly, Sen. Kennedy has $2.1 million in his account as of July, which he calls "an extraordinary amount of money." Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown had $212,000.
"We don't have an official amount for Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz yet. The final accounting of what is left in his account won't be known for another week or so," noted Kruly.
Poloncarz recently told the Buffalo News that he spent more than $1 million on his re-election campaign. Any leftover money cannot be directly used in a congressional campaign because federal rules are different about accepting corporate and union contributions.
Kruly notes that there are some things that could be done to potentially use
the state accounts despite the federal rules.
"They are free to contribute to local committees, such as the Erie County Democratic Committee and Niagara County Democratic Committee and even town committees to help in getting some goodwill and cooperation in a congressional race, even though the money would not be directed specifically for that."
In addition, there is a convoluted process, but possible way to shift
state money into a Super PAC. The Super PAC would then be independent of
the candidate but be able to assist the candidate in the campaign.
