Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY) and his Democratic challenger, Josh Riley, are vying to represent New York’s 19th Congressional District in one of this year’s most heated and consequential House races. The two candidates have taken starkly different approaches to funding their bids.
On campaign funding, Riley has pledged to not accept donations from corporate political action committees, while Molinaro has been greatly boosted by pro-Israel and business-oriented PACs. And yet, by mostly relying on individual contributions, Riley has managed to outraise Molinaro by more than $3 million at time of publication.
Molinaro was elected to the House in 2022 after narrowly beating out Riley by 4,000 votes. In a swing district just two weeks away from Election Day, fundraising could prove to be the deciding factor in this race by allowing candidates to further promote and staff their campaigns.
The Sun broke down the numbers to find where the candidates are getting their money from.
Riley’s campaign has received nearly $6.7 million in individual contributions and about $8.1 million overall, according to the Federal Election Commission. Individual contributions are donations typically made by singular citizens, as opposed to larger organizations or businesses.
Of $1.4 million Riley has raised outside of individual donations, more than $440,000 has come from other political committees, including a host of unions and association political action committees advocating for abortion rights, worker’s rights and increased funding for public schools, according to the FEC.
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Molinaro, on the other hand, has raised nearly $5 million for his campaign, with $2.1 million coming from individuals, according to OpenSecrets.
While about 83 percent of Riley’s campaign has come from individual donations, individual contributions compose only about 44 percent of Molinaro’s campaign.
Since 2023, Molinaro has accepted approximately $1.7 million from PACs to fund his campaign — equaling nearly 35 percent of his total funding.
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Notably, Elon Musk’s America PAC has donated $570,600 to Molinaro’s campaign alongside millions to Republican candidates running for House seats around the country.
Molinaro’s campaign has also accepted tens of thousands of dollars from pro-Israel PACs, and significant support from the Congressional Leadership Fund and the National Republican Campaign Committee.
Many top donations also come from organizations representing asset management, oil, transportation and real estate.
Molinaro has taken a firm anti-immigrant stance, repeating rhetoric said by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during the Sept. 10 ABC Presidential Debate. Last month, Molinaro shared a post on X that promoted the lie that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are eating neighbors’ pets.
Additionally, Molinaro has accused Riley in ads and campaign statements of being too lenient on border policy, claiming that Riley would allow undocumented immigrants to take jobs that should belong to U.S. citizens.
In turn, Riley has criticized Molinaro’s strict opposition to abortion, highlighting Molinaro’s record of voting for restrictions on abortion services. Riley’s ads have claimed that Molinaro is in favor of a national abortion ban, a claim Molinaro denies.
Giselle Redmond is a Sun contributor and can be reached at [email protected].