Republicans spend big in state races in Queens

Republican candidates are raising high funding numbers in local elections this cycle, but still have an uphill battle against Democratic incumbents.  Eagle file photo by Ryan Schwach.

By Ryan Schwach

Republican candidates challenging Queens Democratic state lawmakers in November’s general election are spending big, new campaign finance filings show.

In three of the closest races for state legislature seats in Queens, Republican challengers are raising more and spending more than they did in 2022 in the hopes that they can unseat their Democratic opponents, many of whom are also putting up big financial numbers a month before the election.

An analysis of recently filed campaign finance data shows that Queens Republican candidates are spending two to four times as much money this year as they did in 2022 in several districts expecting to see close races.

Big spending has been seen in the race for District 23’s Assembly seat, which will see a rematch between Democratic incumbent Stacey Pheffer Amato and Republican candidate Tom Sullivan. Two years ago, the same matchup was decided by only 15 votes. A potentially close race may also be seen in Senate District 11, where longtime incumbent Toby Ann Stavisky will attempt to stave off a challenge from Republican Yiatin Chu, and in Assembly District 40, where Assemblymember Ron Kim faces a challenge from Republican Philip Wang.

In District 23, which encompasses portions of the Rockaway peninsula, Broad Channel and Howard Beach, Sullivan is once again attempting to unseat Pheffer Amato. Only this time, he’s doing so with a much larger purse.

Sullivan, a U.S Army veteran from the conservative Breezy Point community, did not do a noticeable amount of campaigning in his 2022 race, he admits. However, powered by a high Republican voter turnout bolstered by gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin in 2022, Sullivan made the race close.

Now in 2024, Sullivan said he’s taking the race, and his campaign fundraising and spending, a little more seriously. According to campaign finance filings made last week, Sullivan has spent $108,705 this campaign cycle, which is more than 13 times what he spent by the same time in the campaign in 2022. The Republican currently has $82,503 in the bank.

Although his contribution numbers are lower than they were in 2022, Sullivan’s spending shows his increased push to get his name out there.

His spending includes over $25,000 to the conservative news conglomerate Sinclair, and around $16,000 to local newspapers for advertising.

“Advertising costs money, and advertising helps, it helps build awareness of your candidacy,” Sullivan told the Eagle. “Last time we didn't do any mailings. Now we've done six. Last time I was here and there with the newspaper ads. Now I try to be in more newspapers more often.”

Sullivan said he has campaigned more often than he did in 2022, and has seen that more people are aware of him and his candidacy than they were during his previous attempts at office.

“Last campaign, we found a lot of times that we had to create opportunities, and this time, I've had a lot more people reaching out to us,” he said.

Regardless of Sullivan’s spending, moderate Democrat and daughter of Audrey Pheffer, the former holder of the seat, Pheffer-Amato is still drastically out raising and outspending him.

She filed $36,952 in contributions last week, and over $124,000 in spending.

Pheffer Amato also recently secured the endorsement of the Police Benevolent Association. The endorsement could be pivotal in a district known for being home to a large number of cops and other city employees. It also could prove to be an important endorsement against an opponent running primarily on a public safety platform.

“Oftentimes in these swing, bellwether-type of districts, you're looking for the PBA [endorsement], because they're one of the few unions that can endorse both Democrats and Republicans,” said Democratic political strategists Trip Yang.

Pheffer Amato’s campaign did not respond to the Eagle’s request for comment before print time.

Other Republican candidates in close Queens races are following a similar financial trend.

In District 11, conservative education activist Yiatin Chu has spent more than three times as much as Stefano Forte, the Republican candidate running for the same seat in 2022, did.

She also maintains around $91,000 in the bank in the final stretch of the election, significantly more than Forte did in his race against Stavisky a month out from the election two years ago.

Chu attests the boost to increased local frustration with what she calls the “progressive political agenda that has made our city less safe and less prosperous.”

“Hard working people are outraged that their taxes are going to migrant shelters,” she told the Eagle.

Chu referenced the Creedmoor migrant shelter, of which Stavisky, a relatively moderate Democrat, was also publicly in opposition to.

In turn, Stavisky criticized what she said were Chu’s “extremist” politics.

“No matter how much my opponent spends, it can't change the simple fact that she applauded when Roe v. Wade was overturned and criticized sensible gun safety measures,” she said. “I am confident that my neighbors in Queens will reject her extremist views and once again re-elect me next month."

In further comment to the Eagle, Chu disputed that she is against abortion or “common sense” gun laws.

In Flushing, Phillip Wang, a local doctor, is outspending Kim, the Democratic incumbent. Wang has spent $61,000 to Kim’s $28,000.

And though Wang also currently has more money in the bank than Kim, the incumbent is outraising Wang by nearly two to one.

In 2022, Kim narrowly squeezed by his Republican opponent Sharon Liao, beating her by less than three percentage points.

In 2024, Wang has spent around twice as much as Liao did at this point in the race, and has more than three times what she had in the bank.

However, funding numbers have not been enough to hold Kim back this election cycle. His Democratic primary opponent Yi Andy Chen outraised him ahead of the June election, but Kim ultimately won the race by 14 points.

Regardless of the increased funding, Kim, Stavisky and Pheffer Amato are still far outraising their Republican opponents in districts that are already fiercely more Democratic than conservative.

Yang, who is working on Kim’s campaign and declined to comment on the Flushing race, said that Pheffer Amato and Stavisky both have the advantage of incumbency and the benefit of high voter turnout in a presidential election year, despite the increase in Republican spending.

“In a presidential year, higher turnout in many of these Queens districts benefits the Democrat,” he said.

Yang argued that while Chu is a “somewhat formidable” candidate, Stavisky’s long tenure and overall reputation may be more than the Republican candidate can overcome.

Yang also argued that the increase in spending this year is a reflection of candidates believing that they can no longer rely on the candidate at the top of the ballot – this year, the top Republican candidate is Donald Trump – to win them a seat.

“I think the calibration here is that Republican candidates are realizing here it's not realistic to have one strong candidate at the top of the ballot,” he said, arguing that Republicans are focusing more specifically on the local, down ballot races.

“That’s why they are spending more,” he said.

Early voting for these races, and all the other contests in Queens, begins on Saturday, Oct. 26.

This story has been updated to reflect further comment from Yiatin Chu.