More than 50 percent of money for the re-election campaign of Assemblyman Don Miller, R-Clay, has come from the Republican Party.
As of Oct. 25, Miller has raised $211,802 for his campaign, according to the finance report filed with the New York State Board of Elections. Of that, 54 percent — or $113,682 — is from the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee, the New York Republican State Committee and the Clay Republican Committee.
Miller is seeking re-election for the 127th State Assembly District. He is challenged by Democrat Al Stirpe of North Syracuse, who served two terms in the Assembly before he lost the seat to Miller in 2010. The newly drawn 127th State Assembly District includes Clay, Cicero, Manlius, Pompey, Fabius and Tully.
Election Day is Nov. 6.
Fundraising is critical in competitive elections such as this one, said Kristi Andersen, a political scientist at Syracuse University. In local races, she said, candidates need to raise enough money to buy advertising to make their names recognizable. “Basically, you want to get the word out about your candidacy to your target population,” Andersen said.
Miller did not respond to six interview requests for this story.
Here are some other highlights of Miller’s campaign finances, from reports filed with the New York State Board of Elections:
- 30 percent – or $64,548 – of Miller’s donations came from named individuals.
- 27 percent — or $17,477 – of money donated by individuals were family members. They include $9,000 from Patrick Miller; $3,966 from Jeanann Miller; $1,668 from Paula Miller; and $1,150 from Sarah Miller.
- 6 percent – or $12,541 – came from political action committees. Among those were $4,345 from Empire State ABC, which focuses on the construction industry; $2,000 from Rent Stabilization Association, which focuses on the real estate industry and property; and $1,000 from New Yorkers for Growth, which focuses on lower taxes, debt and government spending.
- As of Oct. 25, Miller had spent $146,242 with 76 percent — or $108,182 – going toward advertising.
- As of Oct. 25, Miller had $14,276 cash on hand.
(Laurence Léveillé is a senior majoring in newspaper journalism.)
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