Partisan super PACs funneled more than $50 million into four New York City congressional races during the recent Democratic primaries, with the contest to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler in Manhattan’s 12th House District attracting a staggering $40.8 million in spending. This spending level positions the NY-12 race as one of the most expensive in House history, according to records.
In the NY-12 primary, where approximately 102,000 Democrats cast ballots, super PACs spent an average of $398 per vote. The eventual winner, state Assemblyman Micah Lasher, and runner-up Alex Bores, also an assemblyman, spent a comparatively small fraction of this total on their actual campaigns, according to preliminary campaign finance records. Experts noted that such extensive super PAC involvement can lead to public perception that candidates are indebted to the groups funding these independent expenditures, even though candidates are legally prohibited from coordinating with or receiving direct donations from PACs. "When most of the total campaign spending in a race is done by super PACs, the public will presume candidates are beholden to those funding the super PAC," said Alex Camarda, a senior policy adviser for the good government group Reinvent Albany.
Spending in Other Key Races
While the NY-12 primary drew the most super PAC funds, three other races featuring endorsements from Mayor Zohran Mamdani saw significant independent spending, totaling roughly $12 million. The District 13 race, won by Darializa Avila Chevalier, a candidate aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, against incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat, generated $9.35 million in super PAC cash. Espaillat received support from PACs typically associated with establishment Democrats, such as Bold America, which spent $1.36 million on his behalf. In contrast, Avila Chevalier benefited from donations to left-wing PACs like Justice Democrats, which contributed $1.1 million. Another significant contributor to Avila Chevalier was American Priorities, a PAC partly funded by businessman Hussein “Sam” Mahrouq, which provided $844,000. American Priorities also directed $455,000 into the District 7 race, won by Claire Valdez, another DSA member, with Valdez receiving an additional $811,000 from groups supporting Mamdani and progressive causes.
The District 10 race, where Lander, a progressive former city comptroller, defeated incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman, attracted $524,000 in combined super PAC funding. Goldman received $300,000 from New Yorkers Fighting Back, a PAC partially funded by the Democratic Majority for Israel. Lander received $84,000 from the Working Families Party PAC.
Industry and Billionaire Influence
In the hotly contested NY-12 race, a PAC associated with billionaire former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Stand for NY PAC, contributed approximately $10.7 million in support of Lasher through advertising, mail, and polling. However, this figure was dwarfed by the combined $21 million spent by competing super PACs with ties to the artificial intelligence industry. Think Big, an affiliate of the pro-AI super PAC Leading For the Future, spent $8.1 million attacking Bores, who had advocated for regulating the tech sector. Conversely, Jobs and Democracy, a super PAC affiliated with Anthropic, an AI company supportive of regulation, contributed $13.1 million to support Bores. These independent expenditures significantly overshadowed the candidates' own campaign spending, with Lasher’s campaign spending $1.58 million and Bores’ campaign spending $1.83 million as of early June.
Alex Camarda of Reinvent Albany argued that the scale of super PAC spending challenges the rationale behind the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, which suggested that independent expenditures would not corrupt democracy. "Wealthy donors have great access to and influence over elected officials they support through ‘independent’ spending that can be contrary to the public interest," Camarda stated.