Kennedy raised another $952,826 in the first quarter of 2024; total receipts for all 25 NY House incumbents are $75.7 million

With the latest filing with the Federal Election Commission State Senator Tim Kennedy has once again demonstrated his fundraising prowess.  He reported campaign donations totaling $1,697,729 since announcing his NY26 candidacy in mid-November, including $952,826 since his previous filing for the period ending December 31.

Kennedy is the Democratic and Working Families parties candidate for NY26 in the April 30 special election.  Kennedy’s Republican-Conservative opponent, Gary Dickson, raised $35,431 through April 10 and reported cash on hand of $14,362.

Here are some highlights about Kennedy’s haul for the period from mid-November through April 10:

  • 533 itemized individual contributors have donated.
  • The average itemized donation from individuals was $2,330.
  • An additional $61,905 was received in unitemized individual contributions.
  • Donations from PACs and other committees totaled $369,100.
  • $24,713 was received as transfers from other authorized committee.
  • The filing reported expenses of $1,043,812.
  • Kennedy’s cash on hand as of April 10th was $653,917.

Kennedy, as of mid-January, still had $1.3 million left in his state campaign account, which cannot be used for a congressional race.

The 25 House incumbents from New York State collectively raised $75.7 million in the first quarter of 2024.  When the receipts of House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries ($12.7 million); Republican Leadership team member Elise Stefanik ($8 million); and Tom Suozzi’s special election ($6.9 million) are removed from the group, the total raised among the remaining 22 incumbents was $48.1 million; that is an average of $2.2 million.

In Western New York Congressman Nick Langworthy (NY23) raised $1,124,565 in the first quarter of 2024; spent $392,299; and has cash on hand of $822,735.  Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY24) raised $1,693,739; spent $1,087,127; and has a balance of $668,061 available.  Also in NY24, Republican Mario Fratto raised $506,444 and has $472,475 cash on hand.  The Democratic candidate in NY24, David Wagenhauser, raised $15,887 and has $11,330 available.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a candidate for re-election this year, raised $12.4 million and had slightly less than $10 million cash on hand as of March 31.  The endorsed Republican candidate for the Senate, Michael Sapraicone, raised $714,699 and had cash on hand of $299,118.  Both of the candidates might have primary elections in June.

Kennedy’s first quarter receipts place him ahead of five New York House incumbents in collections, although because of different reporting deadlines for regular and special elections, he had an extra 10 days of financial activity to report compared with the incumbents, who operated under a March 31 financial cutoff date.

All of this demonstrates the incredibly large role that money plays in politics these days.  It takes a lot of a candidate’s time to raise $2.2 million in three months.  That comes out to nearly $24,000 each and every day.

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Trump official claims ’50 years of discrimination’ against whites as lawyers flee DOJ



Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon claimed that the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division was guilty of "50 years of discrimination" against white people after about 75% of the agency's lawyers said she was behind a plot to drive them out.

"I think there was some denial and they had crying sessions together," Dhillon told The New York Post this week. "Frankly, it was shocking to them. They had unhappy hours. It was like a lot of drama and handwringing."

"I didn't fire anybody. I just told them they have to approach their job differently. They self-deported with a nice golden parachute from the government."

On Wednesday's appearance on The Charlie Kirk Show, Dhillon encouraged viewers to apply for jobs at the reconstructed Civil Rights Division.

"We just sued Minneapolis for discriminating against teachers who are not minorities and, you know, on and on and on," she promised. "And so we are hiring, and so lawyers with at least 18 months of experience who are interested in serving a tour of duty to help their country."

Charlie Kirk Show producer Andrew Kolvet lamented that white people could soon no longer hold majority status in the U.S.

"Let's say it was 83% white country [in the 1960s]; now we're basically 50%," he noted. "You give that another 10 years, it's going to be probably under 50%, maybe right around 50%. ... When I was born, I think we were around 80% white still."

Dhillon admitted that "we have a history of discrimination in our country."

But she suggested that the courts went too far with a 1971 decision that started the concept of disparate impact.

"So in other words, you no longer necessarily had to prove in your discrimination case, whatever the context was, that you are actually being the victim of intentional discrimination," she remarked. "You could simply prove that there's a hiring process or a policy, or there's certain, you know, tests that are required, and I, because I'm African-American, I can't pass a test."

"We have now issued a guidance that says that this 50 years of discrimination is against frankly law-abiding practices and businesses and recipients is over," she added. "It is harming a lot of people. It is wrong."

‘Psychopath or sociopath?’ Conservative worries Trump has proved he’s ’emotionally broken’



Criticism of Donald Trump's remarks regarding Rob Reiner's death intensified on Tuesday morning when a prominent conservative columnist questioned the aging president's mental fitness.

In a notably direct column for conservative publication The National Review, Jim Geraghty asserted that Trump's statements suggest "something deeply wrong." He proceeded to question whether "psychopath or sociopath" better characterizes the president's behavior.

Acknowledging the tragedy of Reiner and his wife Michele, who were reportedly killed by their son, Geraghty suggested that Trump's actions reveal long-standing indicators of instability. He characterized the president as consistently "obsessed with grievances; vindictive and prone to posting late-night tirades on social media; uninterested in details; erratic, impulsive, spiteful."

Geraghty argued that Trump lacks the capacity to assess moral character through objective standards. Instead, he wrote, "Donald Trump's entire worldview of whether someone is a good person or a bad person depends entirely on whether that person offers praise or criticism of Trump."

The columnist raised concerns about Trump's access to nuclear weapons while simultaneously pursuing aggressive military policies globally, suggesting his emotional state presents a national security concern.

Geraghty acknowledged that Trump supporters could defend his policies or express satisfaction with their electoral choices. However, he concluded, "But what you can't say is that Donald Trump is a good and decent human being."

He further contended that Trump's inability to empathize with the Reiners' tragedy mirrors his disconnect from Americans struggling with cost-of-living concerns. "This is why his approval rating on the economy hit 31 percent. There are far-reaching consequences of having a president who is emotionally broken," Geraghty wrote.

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Greater East Buffalo Family of Parishes Bulletin – 12/07/2025

Click here to view—> This is for churches of Corpus Christi, St. Stanislaus, St. Gualbert, St. Katharine Drexel, and St. Adalbert Basilica.