Close to $2 million has so far been poured into the race of the hotly contested 15th Congressional District race, with candidate and Bronx Councilman Ritchie Torres leading the pack.
But the totals could be more. That’s because five of the 13 candidates vying for the South Bronx seat have missed the Oct. 15 filing deadline.
Torres, a progressive Democrat, grabbed the most dollars in the quarter that began in July and ended in September with $355,089, less than his first quarter filings when he raised more than $500,000. He’s received help from donors in 46 states, and from at least two billionaires: Jonathan Tisch, owner of Loews Hotels and John Catsimatidis, owner of the Gristedes grocery chain and former Republican mayoral contender. He’s also received $22,268 from donors with the title of real estate. Torres also received 100 donors from the Bronx totaling $10,329. Ninety-two of those donors were considered small dollar donors.
And while Torres grabbed more donors from the Bronx this time out, his rival, Councilman Rev. Ruben Diaz Sr., a socially conservative Democrat, secured at least 40 donors from the Bronx, contributing $16,044 donors, which represents 36 percent of the total of itemized donors funding his campaign. Diaz Sr. secured $44,388 this quarter, with $11,044 of it coming from unitemized contributions, which contributed less than $200 throughout the campaign, allowing Diaz Sr. not to disclose who those donors are. Powering his campaign are those from the religious sector, with 31 of the 69 disclosed voters having the title of minister.
Assemblyman Michael Blake–vice chair of the Democratic National Committee–raised more money from his campaign than in the previous quarter, securing $239,260, nearly half as much more than he received in the first quarter. Much like Torres, Blake’s support is coming from New York and California.
Former council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito came out strong in her quarter filing for the campaign, securing $151,613, with much of those monies coming from outside the Bronx. Though she has committed to steering clear from corporate PAC and real estate developers, there are some with ties to the real estate sector, including Deborah Garcia-Gratacos who gave $2,800 and Nathalie Reyes of Grupo Salinas, a major conglomerate with a subsidiary in real estate projects.
A spokesperson for her campaign told City & State that “Melissa Mark-Viverito has made it very clear that she is an independent and unbeholden candidate,” the statement read. “This campaign is committed to doing the right thing and has only accepted contributions that are aligned with our pledge.”
Though he came very late into the campaign, Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez pulled in a hefty sum of money within a month’s span, raising $51,500 with 32 out of his 34 donors considered big donors, with the median donation at $1500. Virtually all of his donors are coming from outside the Bronx. His figures are more than what Marlene Cintron, president of the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, pulled at $13,544, though she’s spent about half of it, leaving $6,949 on hand.
Hers hasn’t been the fastest money spent. Tomas Ramos, a community organizer, and Jonathan Ortiz, a financial, have each spent more than 80 percent of the small campaign budget already.
The race is by far one of the more closely watched contests in New York City leading into 2020. The 13 are vying for the chance to succeed 15-term Congressman Jose Serrano, who announced in March that he’ll not seek re-election after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.