WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Anthony Brindisi didn’t waste any time reloading on campaign cash this year after winning New York’s most expensive race for Congress in 2018.

Brindisi, D-Utica, raised more than $450,000 for his campaign in the first quarter of 2019, a healthy total for a House freshman who refuses to accept donations from corporate interests.

He ended the quarter from Jan. 1 through March 31 with $390,000 cash on hand, according to a quarterly report his campaign plans to file with the Federal Election Commission by Monday’s deadline.

About 85 percent of Brindisi’s contributions during the quarter were from small-dollar donors who gave less than $200, said Sarah Russell, finance director of Brindisi’s campaign.

Brindisi defeated Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-New Hartford, in November in one of the most competitive and expensive House races in the nation. He won by 1% after a count of absentee ballots.

All told, the candidates and special-interest groups spent about $24 million on the campaign, making it the most expensive race among New York’s 27 House districts last year.

Independent political groups from outside of the 22nd Congressional District spent about $16 million of the total, ranking in the top 10 in the nation for independent expenditures out of 435 House seats.

One Republican has publicly announced plans to seek the GOP nomination and challenge Brindisi in 2020.

George Phillips, of Endwell in Broome County, said last month that he will make his fourth bid for Congress. He lost a three-way Republican primary to Tenney in 2016. Tenney, who served for one term, has not ruled out seeking a rematch against Brindisi in 2020.

The 22nd Congressional District covers all of Madison, Oneida, Cortland and Chenango counties and portions of Oswego, Broome, Herkimer, and Tioga counties.

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