Outside Groups Pour Late Money Into Lawler-Conley Race in New York's 17th District, FEC Filings Show
Outside groups on both sides reported hundreds of thousands of dollars in new spending in the final stretch of the race between Republican Rep. Mike Lawler and Democrat Cait Conley in New York's 17th Congressional District, according to 24-hour reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
The largest new item came from Care in Action PAC, a super PAC that reported a $200,000 phone bank supporting Conley on Oct. 23. On the Republican side, Safety & Affordability PAC reported $912,500 in TV and connected-TV advertising against Conley and the same amount supporting Lawler, first aired Oct. 21.
The filings cover spending made independently of the campaigns. Super PACs may raise and spend unlimited sums but may not coordinate with candidates. The election is Nov. 3.
Groups Backing Conley or Opposing Lawler
Care in Action PAC reported two expenditures on Oct. 23: a $200,000 "vended phone bank" through the vendor Stones Phones and $16,791.42 in direct mail, both supporting Conley. The group had reported a $37,000 phone bank two days earlier. Its Oct. 24 report puts its total spending in the race at $255,876.88.
The Human Rights Campaign's Equality Votes PAC reported $125,000 in digital advertising supporting Conley on Oct. 23, its first spending in the race, according to its report.
Battleground New York reported $94,711 for canvassing supporting Conley on Oct. 23, in three items of $50,000, $41,666 and $3,045. In a report filed Oct. 26, the group listed another $50,802.39 in mail opposing Lawler, including $20,500 for literature and $27,409.44 for postage. Battleground New York describes itself as a super PAC supported by a coalition of labor, advocacy and community groups. Its Oct. 26 report puts its spending against Lawler at $500,568.32.
EDF Action Votes, the political arm of the Environmental Defense Fund, reported $48,318 for mail opposing Lawler on Oct. 23. Its report puts its total in the race at $863,354.
LCV Victory Fund reported two ad buys opposing Lawler that first ran Oct. 21, of $319,900 and $177,500, plus $27,770 in media production provided in kind by House Majority PAC. Its report puts its spending against Lawler at $1,060,177.82. Equality PAC reported $32,084.17 in direct mail on Oct. 23, listed once as support for Conley and once as opposition to Lawler. Smaller filings came from JDCA PAC, which reported $17,018.65 in digital ads supporting Conley, and Free and Fair Democracy PAC, which reported $10,000 in digital ads opposing Lawler.
Groups Backing Lawler or Opposing Conley
Safety & Affordability PAC's Oct. 22 report lists two entries of $912,500 for TV and connected-TV ads through MHB Media, one opposing Conley and one supporting Lawler, for a running total of $1,825,000 that counts the same buy on both sides.
No Going Back PAC filed reports on Oct. 24 and Oct. 26 listing direct mail and text messages, most of them split evenly between support for Lawler and opposition to Conley. The largest items were mailers of $35,819.63 supporting Lawler and $35,819.62 opposing Conley, sent Oct. 24. Its Oct. 26 report lists $623,553.27 spent opposing Conley and $621,762.07 supporting Lawler so far, with many items counted on both sides.
Both Safety & Affordability PAC and No Going Back PAC list the same treasurer, Charles Gantt, and the same Massachusetts address on their filings. FactCheck.org reported that both groups were created in September and have received almost all of their funding from MAGA Inc., the super PAC aligned with President Donald Trump.
America PAC, the super PAC funded by Elon Musk, which The Digital Free Press reported on last week, reported $26,771.50 for message phone calls supporting Lawler, scheduled for Oct. 30, and $23,918 in printing and postage supporting Lawler and another $23,918 opposing Conley, scheduled for Oct. 27. Its Oct. 22 report puts its total in the race at $622,939.19. The Governing Majority Fund reported $15,611.69 in mail opposing Conley in a report filed Oct. 23.
What the Campaigns Say
Both campaigns have criticized the other side's outside support. After America PAC's spending was reported, Conley spokesperson Maddy Rosen told the New York Post, "It's no surprise that Elon Musk has spent millions to keep his puppet Mike Lawler in office."
Lawler spokesperson Ciro Riccardi told the Post, "By law, Lawler for Congress can't coordinate with super PACs, and we have no say over what America PAC or any other outside group spends in this race."
How to Read the NY-17 Numbers
The amounts above come from 24-hour reports, which groups must file when they spend $1,000 or more on an independent expenditure in the final weeks before an election. Many are estimates and can be amended later.
Some groups report the same mailer or ad as both support for one candidate and opposition to the other, so the figures cannot simply be added into one race-wide total. The running totals quoted above are the ones each group listed on its own report.
Images: Tappan Zee Bridge (Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge) by Antony-22, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; East Front of the U.S. Capitol, U.S. Capitol (Flickr), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Yossi Schmidt, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Digital Free Press
Hold Everyone Accountable.
Sources: Care in Action PAC, FEC 24-hour report filed Oct. 24, 2026 (file 2041508): https://docquery.fec.gov/dcdev/posted/2041508.fec ; Care in Action PAC, amended 24-hour report filed Oct. 24, 2026 (file 2041498): https://docquery.fec.gov/dcdev/posted/2041498.fec ; Human Rights Campaign Equality Votes PAC, 24-hour report filed Oct. 24, 2026 (file 2041190): https://docquery.fec.gov/dcdev/posted/2041190.fec ; Battleground New York, 24-hour report filed Oct. 23, 2026 (file 2040711): https://docquery.fec.gov/dcdev/posted/2040711.fec ; Battleground New York, 24-hour report filed Oct. 26, 2026 (file 2042261): https://docquery.fec.gov/dcdev/posted/2042261.fec ; EDF Action Votes, 24-hour report filed Oct. 23, 2026 (file 2040539): https://docquery.fec.gov/dcdev/posted/2040539.fec ; LCV Victory Fund, 24-hour report filed Oct. 22, 2026 (file 2039178): https://docquery.fec.gov/dcdev/posted/2039178.fec ; Equality PAC, 24-hour report filed Oct. 23, 2026 (file 2040660): https://docquery.fec.gov/dcdev/posted/2040660.fec ; JDCA PAC, 24-hour report filed Oct. 22, 2026 (file 2040149): https://docquery.fec.gov/dcdev/posted/2040149.fec ; Free and Fair Democracy PAC, 24-hour report filed Oct. 22, 2026 (file 2037512): https://docquery.fec.gov/dcdev/posted/2037512.fec ; Safety & Affordability PAC, 24-hour report filed Oct. 22, 2026 (file 2039285): https://docquery.fec.gov/dcdev/posted/2039285.fec ; No Going Back PAC, 24-hour report filed Oct. 24, 2026 (file 2041487): https://docquery.fec.gov/dcdev/posted/2041487.fec ; No Going Back PAC, 24-hour report filed Oct. 26, 2026 (file 2042308): https://docquery.fec.gov/dcdev/posted/2042308.fec ; America PAC, 24-hour reports filed Oct. 21 and Oct. 22, 2026 (files 2035217 and 2039458): https://docquery.fec.gov/dcdev/posted/2035217.fec and https://docquery.fec.gov/dcdev/posted/2039458.fec ; The Governing Majority Fund, 24-hour report filed Oct. 23, 2026 (file 2040249): https://docquery.fec.gov/dcdev/posted/2040249.fec ; FEC, independent expenditures in the race (Lawler): https://www.fec.gov/data/independent-expenditures/?candidate_id=H2NY17162 ; FEC, independent expenditures in the race (Conley): https://www.fec.gov/data/independent-expenditures/?candidate_id=H6NY17171 ; New York Post, "Elon Musk opens wallet to aid Mike Lawler's tough re-election bid," Oct. 22, 2026: https://nypost.com/2026/10/22/us-news/elon-musk-opens-wallet-to-aid-mike-lawlers-tough-re-election-bid/ ; FactCheck.org, "Safety & Affordability PAC Inc.," Oct. 26, 2026: https://www.factcheck.org/2026/10/safety-affordability-pac-inc/ ; Battleground New York, About: https://www.battlegroundnewyork.com/about
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