Candidates who are in contested primaries were required to file 32-day pre-primary financial reports with the state Board of Elections on May 22nd, indicating financial activities from January 11, 2026. Some candidate committees have received additional funds after the May 18th cutoff date for reporting, and those contributions are included in the fundraising totals in this post.
Highlighting the filings are those for the Democratic nominations for state comptroller; state Senate in the 61st district; and state Assembly in the 149th district. All the candidates in these races have received funds under the state’s Public Campaign Financing Board (PCFB) Program.
The summary of funds received by candidates from the PFCB includes information from the May 22nd campaign filings plus additional funds approved by the PCFB on May 19, which was after the cutoff date for 32-day pre-primary report.
State Comptroller
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli is the incumbent state comptroller. He was appointed to the position in 2007 and has easily won re-election four times. He has two opponents in the Democratic primary. Here are the details:
DiNapoli raised $393,922; received a total of $2,022,823 in PCFB funds; spent $1,321,430; had cash-on-hand of $2,095,896 as of May 18th which does not include the May 19 distribution from the PCFB of $321,698
Raj Goyle raised $112,154; received a total of $1,770,813 in PCFB funds; spent $1,159,146; had cash-on-hand of $1,925,106 as of May 18th which does not include the May 19 distribution from the PCFB of $56,438
Drew Warshaw raised $259,119; received a total of $840,690 in PCFB funds; spent $1,342,581; had cash-on-hand of $597,076 as of May 18th which does not include the May 19 distribution from the PCFB of $221,820
Historical footnote: Ray Gallagher of Buffalo, as the Democratic Party’s endorsed candidate won a three-way primary for comptroller running against two New York City area politicians in 1982. Gallagher spent $40,000 on the primary.
State Senate, 61st District
Senator Jeremy Zeller, elected in the 61st District in February special election, is being challenged by Assemblyman Jon Rivera.
Zellner raised $228,116; received a total of $323,698 in PCFB funds; spent $306,304; had cash-on-hand of $61,152 as of May 18th which does not include the May 19 distribution from the PCFB of $323,698
Rivera raised $87,674; received a total of $249,803 in PCFB funds; spent $175,210; had cash-on-hand of $225,977 as of May 18th which does not include the May 19 distribution from the PCFB of $23,826
State Assembly, 149th District
The 149th Assembly District is an open seat because of Jon Rivera’s decision to run for the Senate seat. There are three Democrats in the June 23rd primary contesting for the party nomination:
Adam Bojak raised $17,727; received a total of $118,326 in PCFB funds; spent $48,424; had cash-on-hand of $46,271 as of May 18th which does not include the May 19 distribution from the PCFB of $54,095
Kevin Deese raised $8,403; received a total of $90,460 in PCFB funds; spent $42,598; had cash-on-hand of $77,314 as of May 18th which does not include the May 19 distribution from the PCFB of $1,300
Karen Hoak raised $18,828; received a total of $168,337 in PCFB funds; spent $125,451; had cash-on-hand of $49,387 as of May 18th which does not include the May 19 distribution from the PCFB of $18,399
The PCFB has limits on the amount of money that can be disbursed to candidates based on the office being pursued. Here are the limits for the primaries. The same limits apply for the general election:
State Comptroller: $3,500,000
State Senate: $375,000
State Assembly: $175,000
Thus far in 2026 the PCFB has disbursed $9,678,448 to candidates throughout the state.
Looking forward to November, the winner of the primary for comptroller will coast to victory against the Republican candidate Joseph Hernandez.
There is no Republican candidate in the 61st Senate District. If Rivera loses the primary he can either continue to November as the Working Families Party candidate or he can decline that line. Victories on minor party lines are extremely rare.
The winner of the Democratic primary in the 149th Assembly District will be running against Republican /Conservative Frank Bogulski in November.
In local politics there will not be much excitement over the summer months. There are dozens of county and town candidates running in November, but many will be unopposed. The Erie County Clerk position is on the ballot with Democrat Steve Meyer challenging incumbent Republican incumbent Mickey Kearns.
The political focus will shift primarily to the race for governor. Incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul is a heavy favorite to defeat Republican/Conservative Bruce Blakeman.
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