Democrat Mondaire Jones announces nearly $3M fundraising haul in NY House race

Former Rep. Mondaire Jones’s (D-N.Y.) campaign announced Thursday that the candidate had raked in $2.9 million in the third quarter of fundraising this year, a number that was first shared with The Hill.

Jones’s campaign said it ended the quarter with more than $2.3 million in the bank. It’s unclear how much of the New York Democrat’s latest haul came from transfers.

Regardless, Jones’s fundraising is particularly notable — and high — for a House race, highlighting how expensive some battleground races that will determine control of the lower chamber have become. Jones is seeking to win back his old seat against Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.).

“I am proud to have raised nearly $3 million last quarter and to bring my total fundraising for the cycle to almost $8.5 million,” Jones said in a statement.

“This historic fundraising haul is a testament to the grassroots coalition we are building to defeat Mike Lawler, take back the House, and save our democracy,” he continued. “The Lower Hudson Valley deserves serious leadership that is working to lower costs, protect abortion rights, fight for Social Security and Medicare, and secure our border.”

Lawler has not released his fundraising numbers for the third quarter.

Jones previously represented New York’s 17th Congressional District but opted to run in a different House district last cycle after redistricting complicated his prospects of running for his original seat. He instead ran in New York’s 10th Congressional District, losing in the Democratic primary in 2022.

Former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), then chair of the House Democrats’ campaign arm, ran against Lawler in the 17th Congressional District in 2022, and Lawler delivered a surprising upset.

The nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report rates the seat a “toss up.”

Updated on Oct. 4 at 9:00 a.m. EDT