WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep John Katko will begin his re-election campaign for Congress with about $1 million more in his campaign account than his Democratic challengers, according to new campaign finance records.

Katko began the year with $1,060,768 in his campaign bank account, according to a disclosure report his campaign plans to file with the Federal Election Commission by Friday’s deadline.

Katko, R-Camillus, will have an early advantage over three Democrats seeking to challenge him in the November election for the 24th Congressional District.

Francis Conole, an Iraq War veteran from Syracuse, had about $250,000 in the bank at the start of the year, according to his campaign.

Dana Balter, a Syracuse educator, plans to file a report with the FEC showing she has $220,000 cash on hand. Balter won the Democratic nomination in 2018 and lost to Katko by about 5 percentage points.

Navy veteran Roger Misso, of Syracuse, will report that he raised more than $120,000 during the last quarter of 2019, his campaign said today. After expenses, Misso had almost $130,000 in his campaign bank account.

Katko’s campaign said he raised $364,265 in the final quarter of 2019, bringing his total raised for the year to more than $1.5 million before expenses. An itemized breakdown of the source of Katko’s contributions was not available.

Balter, Conole and Misso have refused to accept contributions from corporate political action committees. Katko has declined to take a similar pledge.

Democratic county committees in the 24th Congressional District plan to designate a candidate for Congress by mid-February. If there’s a Democratic primary election, it would be June 23.

The 24th District covers all of Onondaga, Cayuga and Wayne counties, and the western half of Oswego County, including the cities of Oswego and Fulton.

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Contact Mark Weiner: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751

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