Post Election Roundup - 24th and 25th Races

Incumbent Louise Slaughter (D) finally won her reelection bid yesterday, though Dan Maffei (D) wasn't so lucky. The 25th race ended when the absentee ballots were tallied that retained Slaughter's slight 50%-49% edge against her challenger Mark Assini, but John Katko's crushing 20 points victory in the 24th district against Congressman Maffei could never be contested.

zimbio.com

Despite spending almost six times more than Assini, Slaughter captured just over 50% of the vote. She was able to raise an impressive $1 million compared to Assini's $150,000, but she had to spend over half of it to barely squeak past the finish line. Assini had to spend all of his money, but it translated into a better dollar/vote ratio than the long-time incumbent. His fundraising consisted solely of small and large contributions; no PAC contributions unlike Slaughter, who attained half of her money from business and labor PACs.

Syracuse.com

A mirroring financial story can be shown from neighboring district race between incumbent Dan Maffei and John Katko, complete with an alternative ending than the 25th race. Maffei raised around four times more than Katko, and spent close to his $2.4 million mark while Katko sat comfortably with a $250,000 chunk of his $800,000 raised. Ninety percent of Katko's contributions came from inside New York, compared to 2/3rd of Maffei's, and looking deeper tells us that 2/3rd of that came from out of the district.

The incumbent fundraising advantage certainly helps, just ask Louise Slaughter. However, during an election largely viewed as a referendum of the Democrats and President Obama, Democratic incumbents faced challengers who were able to raise considerably less money and getting a larger portion of votes than their better-funded counterparts. Sometimes the incumbency can have its disadvantages.