When 7th District State Sen. Jack Martins (R) unseated incumbent Craig Johnson (D) in 2010, the race came down to a razor-thin 451 votes and an extended legal battle over a partial recount.
But in this year’s political money race, the competition between challenger Dan Ross (D) and Martins looks more like David-Goliath than Ali-Frazier.
As of July 12, Martins had raised over $500,000, according to New York state campaign finance disclosures.
Ross, who was nominated by the Nassau County Democratic Party in mid-June, had not raised any funds as of the July 12 filing date and is yet to file any reports with the state board of elections.
He told the Great Neck News that his campaign had raised an estimated $75,000 to $125,000 since mid July; his official disclosure report will be filed on Oct. 5 as required by New York state election law.
“I’ve been working with my team and a firm on fundraising matters, going to local organizations and various interest groups and soliciting their contributions,” Ross said.
Martins credited his fundraising success to community support in a statement to the Great Neck News.
“I am grateful for the widespread outpouring of support that I have received from the community. It reflects the fact that people believe in the work we have done over the last two years in getting New York back on the track by working in a bi-partisan manner,” said Martins.
The fundraising disparity is visible in both campaigns’ internet presences. Martins has a professionally designed Web site, 4,500 Facebook friends and an active Twitter account followed by hundreds of supporters.
By comparison, the Ross campaign’s Facebook page has been ‘liked’ 63 times. His campaign Web site was not available at time of publication; voters who try to connect to www.votedanross.com are redirected to internet hosting service GoDaddy.
Ross, who lost to incumbent Andrew DeMartin in the Manhasset-Lakeville Fire and Water District Commissioner election last year, said in a phone interview that the site had been taken down for an update and would be relaunched shortly.
District 7 extends to Great Neck and Sands Point in the north, Roslyn and Westbury to the east, and Mineola, New Hyde Park and Floral Park in the south and south-west.
Martins is widely considered to be a strong favorite in the race. His legislative partnerships with 16th District Assemblywoman Michele Schimel (D) have granted him a reputation for bipartisanship; the pair were jointly honored this month by the Nassau County Village Officials Association for their work supporting local government.
Yet Martins is outdoing his fundraising efforts from his far more competitive 2010 election. At this point in those elections, he had reported raising about $200,000 – less than half of the money collected so far by this cycle’s campaign. But Martins finished strong, with a $250,000 cash influx from the Nassau County Republican Party helping him over to $620,000 in fundraising by election day.
In another departure from his 2010 campaign, Martins has stepped up his fundraising from corporations and political committees.
While he raised about $290,000 from such groups during the entirety of the 2010 race, he has already topped that this year. Martins’ campaign has taken in $356,000 from corporations and PACs so far, including limited liability corporations that donated up to the $10,300 limit allowed by New York elections law.
New York has some of the highest political contribution limits in the country for state elections. Individuals may contribute up to $150,000 per year to campaigns, and candidates may accept $10,300 in general election funds from a single individual. Additionally, while corporations are subject to much stricter limits, limited liability companies – a type of business structure often used to mitigate risk to investors – are treated as individuals in the law and have higher contribution maximums.
Ross would not comment on the specific sources of his funding, but said that he had raised money from a “wide range of donors.”
