WASHINGTON – Running for Congress in 2021 is a bit like preparing for a marathon without a road to run on, but that's not stopping the Steuben County Republican chairman from raising money to run for a Southern Tier seat that may not even exist in 2023.
That GOP official, Joe Sempolinski of Canisteo, is running for the 23rd District seat being vacated by Rep. Tom Reed, a Corning Republican – and Sempolinski managed to raise $107,297 for his effort through Sept. 30 even though that seat may be reapportioned out of existence.
"I'm very pleased," said Sempolinski, 38, a former aide to Reed. "Our goal was to raise $100,000, and everybody was telling me it was a very ambitious goal, given the fact that we don't know exactly what the districts are going to be yet, which obviously makes fundraising more difficult."
Yet Sempolinski managed to do it, bringing in the bulk of his funds – $93,020 – from individuals, including many from the sprawling 23rd District. He also got $10,000 from a "leadership PAC" founded by Reed years ago to fund his own political interests.
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Sempolinski's fundraising is notable because New York will lose one congressional district in 2022 because of population shifts uncovered in the 2020 census – and political observers expect the 23rd District to be the one chopped up among adjacent districts. That's because it's always easier politically to eliminate a congressional seat that's being vacated, and because the 23rd includes many Southern Tier and Finger Lakes communities that have lost population in the past decade.
Nevertheless, both proposed new maps put forth by a nonpartisan redistricting commission preserve a district including Steuben County in which there would be no incumbent running. A GOP proposal includes a redrawn Southern Tier district and a Democratic plan would create a new Finger Lakes district that extends from the Pennsylvania border to territory north of Syracuse.
But political pros expect the Democratic state Legislature to eventually draw up a map that minimizes the number of Republican-leaning seats in the state. And under that scenario, much of the 23rd could be tacked onto the district currently represented by Rep. Chris Jacobs, an Orchard Park Republican.
Another possible scenario could extend the Rochester-area district of Rep. Joe Morelle, an Irondequoit Democrat, into the Southern Tier.
"If it's a situation where a Democrat ends up picking up this area where I live, which is Steuben County, then obviously I would look at running against that Democrat," Sempolinski said. "A primary against a sitting incumbent? That's not something I'll be planning on pursuing."
Sempolinski's early fundraising – which left him with $87,166 on hand after campaign expenses – highlighted the third-quarter campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission by local congressional candidates.
Otherwise, those reports showed Western New York's House members with lackluster fundraising numbers for the July through September period. That's traditionally among the slowest fundraising quarters in congressional races thanks in part to a lull in campaign activity due to summer vacations, combined with the fact that the next election remains more than a year away.
Rep. Brian Higgins, a Buffalo Democrat, raised $227,624 in the third quarter, more than $200,000 less than he had raised between April and June. But Higgins, who will be seeking his 10th term in 2022, had $1.52 million on hand for his next race as of Sept. 30.
“We’re very grateful that Western New Yorkers continue to support Brian’s efforts in Congress and that support shows up in the campaign’s fundraising totals,” said Higgins campaign spokesman Chuck Eaton.
Jacobs, who will be running for a second full term, pulled in $187,712 during the quarter, leaving him $285,831 in cash on hand as of Sept. 30.
And Morelle, whose district could be extended into the Buffalo area through reapportionment, raised $57,767 for the period, leaving him with $302,801 on hand.
