Buchwald Raises Half-Million; Warren Endorses Mondaire Jones
By Dan Murphy
We continue to report on the race for Congress in the 17th District (mid-northern Westchester and Rockland County) to replace Congresswoman Nita Lowey. A dozen democrats have expressed an interest to replace Lowey and announce their intentions. Of those, four democrats have taken the lead in the early stages of the race, which will include having to collect more than 1,000 signatures in the winter, raise more than $1 million, and win a democratic primary June 23.
Westchester Assemblyman David Buchwald got into the race early, and started to collect a number of local endorsements from elected officials and local democratic committees late last year. Those endorsements now include the democratic committees in Mt. Pleasant, New Castle, Mt. Kisco, White Plains and Harrison, and support from County Clerk Tim Idoni, White Plains Mayor Tom Roach, and 40 other local elected officials.
Jan. 31 was the deadline for candidates to file their campaign finance reports, and the Buchwald campaign was happy to report that he has raised more than $523,000 in this report, which ended Dec. 31. “I am humbled by the support for our campaign and excited to keep building on our momentum across the lower Hudson Valley,” said Buchwald. “From standing up for our progressive values to defending reproductive rights, to securing environmental protections, I’m proud of my record and I know I will be able to deliver for the families of Rockland and Westchester counties in Congress.”
Since launching in October, 46 percent of the campaign’s contributions came from Rockland and Westchester.
Buchwald is completing his fourth term in the Assembly, and decided not to run for re-election to the Assembly in order to run for Congress. Last year, he introduced and passed the New York TRUST Act, which enables the U.S. Congress to request the New York State tax returns of top government officials – a law that President Donald Trump is now suing to block.
Other financial reports from the Federal Elections Commission include: Mondaire Jones, who has $490,000 that he raised and $313,000 on hand. Jones raised the second most amount of funding, but spent a lot early in this election; and Evelyn Farkas, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia and Ukraine under President Barack Obama, raised $465,000 and has $394,000 on hand.
Buchwald, Jones and Farkas represent the top tier of candidates in this race, based on their fundraising numbers.
The second tier includes State Sen. David Carlucci, who raised $158,000 and has $109,000 on hand; Westchester County Legislator Catherine Parker, who raised a disappointing $63,000 and has $46,000 on hand; and Asha Hernandez-Castleberry, who raised $52,000 and has $50,000 on hand.
All of the other announced candidates, most notably Westchester County Legislator Catherine Borgia, did not file a required report, but more importantly, failed to raise a significant amount of donations that are needed in a congressional race where at least $1 million is the price of entry.
In other news related to this race, Jones, a progressive democrat, made news when he received the backing of U.S. Sen. and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren. Praising the progressive activist and attorney as a champion for working families who will fight for big, structural change, Warren said: “Mondaire Jones knows we’re in a fight to put power in the hands of working families. With Mondaire in Congress, we’ll gain another chance to achieve the hard-fought wins that bring us closer to big, structural change, and I’m glad to stand with him.”
Jones welcomed the endorsement.
“Growing up in Section 8 housing in the Village of Spring Valley, I never imagined I would one day run for Congress, or that a leading contender for the presidency of the United States would take an interest in my campaign,” said Jones. “I’m proud to have the support of Sen. Warren, a true progressive who has shifted the political dialogue not only within our own party, but throughout the entire country. She has been an advocate for the big, structural policy solutions required to meet the big, existential problems of our time, through policies like a Green New Deal, student debt forgiveness, Medicare for all, and universal child care. I’m honored she is standing with me in this fight.”
Jones, one of two candidates in this race based in Rockland County, has also been endorsed by Democracy for America, The LGBT Victory Fund and The Collective PAC. He recently announced that his campaign raised more than $488,000 in 2019.
Unlike many of his opponents, Jones is not accepting corporate PAC money in his campaign and has also signed the No Fossil Fuel Pledge. When elected, he will make U.S. history as the first openly gay, black member of Congress.
Jones, 32, is a former litigator in the Westchester County Law Department and former Department of Justice staffer during the Obama Administration. A resident of South Nyack and a product of East Ramapo public schools, he later graduated from Stanford University and Harvard Law School. He is a co-founder of the nonprofit Rising Leaders, Inc., and has previously served on the NAACP’s National Board of Directors and on the board of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
One other candidate in the race to replace Lowey deserves mention: Republican John Eisen from Harrison raised $583,000, including a loan from himself of $250,000, and has $558,000 on hand. Eisen has pledged to spend $500,000 of his own funds to take back this House seat that has been in democratic hands for 30 years.
