Both Rep. Tom Reed and his Democratic challenger, Tracy Mitrano, are showing good second-quarter campaign contribution reports.
Reed told reporters on Thursday that his campaign had raised more money from small and large donors this year than in the previous cycle.
Reed’s 2020 campaign shows $2,468,736 in receipts, $1,565,670 in disbursements and $955,305 in cash on hand with 3½ months until the election.
Mitrano’s FEC report showed $787,341 in contributions, $465,253 in disbursements and $341,470 in cash on hand, trailing Reed by more than $600,000.
Reed is seeking re-election to a sixth term in Congress from the 11-county 23rd Congressional District. Mitrano of Penn Yan, a former Cornell University official and cybersecurity specialist, is hoping to upset Reed in a repeat of their 2018 race.
Two years ago at this time, Mitrano had just won a five-way Democratic congressional primary and had $8,000 in the bank. She went on to raise $1.6 million in the following two months before the election, but lost by 9 percentage points.
Mitrano, who also held a telephone press conference on Thursday, said her campaign’s second-quarter receipts were up 85% over the first quarter and she has “a healthy amount of cash on hand.”
Under the circumstances — including the coronavirus pandemic, the accompanying economic crisis and presidential and other candidate fundraising — Mitrano said she was happy with her report.
“Ninety-three percent of the funds came from hard-working individuals,” Mitrano said, contrasting her contributors with those of Reed. “That compares to 35% that Tom Reed raised from individuals.”
FEC filings show $277,610 of Mitrano’s contributions this election cycle came from contributions of $200 or less. Donations to Mitrano of $201 to $500 raised $42,950; $501 to $999, $73,760; $1,000 to $1,999, $71,524 and $2,000 and over, $89,500.
Most of Reed’s campaign contributions came not from individual donors, but political action committees, Mitrano said. The FEC records show Reed received $714,456 in donations of $2,000 and over. Contributors of $200 or less gave Reed $54,499. Those giving Reed between $201 and $499 contributed $32,200; $500 to $999, $71,079; and $1,000 to $1,999, $186,463.
Mitrano said she wasn’t expecting to raise as much money as Reed.
“So much is coming from special interests, banks and insurance companies,” she said of the incumbent’s contributions. “We know we are going to be outraised by Reed. It’s a race for the hearts and minds of the voters.”
Asked by one reporter if it wasn’t tougher this year raising campaign contributions in the financial environment and given a recent slump in President Trump’s support, Reed replied that support for the president is “solid” throughout the district. That was from polling as well as anecdotal evidence, he added.
Mitrano pointed to Trump’s poll numbers that show him 11 points behind former vice president Joe Biden, largely over the president’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Mitrano said people want a congressman from the district “who will work for them, not the corporate interests. There’s a momentum in this campaign that won’t be stopped.”
She added, “COVID- 19 is like this tremendous looking glass. We are looking at President Trump and seeing an utter failure.” Reed, she said, “has tied himself to Trump.”
(Contact reporter Rick Miller at rmiller@oleantimesherald.com. Follow him on Twitter, @RMillerOTH)