money Results: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer defeats Republican Joe Pinion in his fight to retain Democratic control of Congress' upper chamber
Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer won another term in New York's Senate race.
He'll also maintain his position as Senate Majority Leader if Democrats maintain control of the upper chamber.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer won a 5th Senate term — and some much needed breathing room in the 50-50 Senate — in a face off against longshot Republican hopeful Joe Pinion.
New York's US Senate candidates
Schumer left Washington on a high in August, returning to the campaign trail with a string of hard-fought legislative victories that swung the political conversation toward Democrats possibly keeping control of the narrowly divided Senate after months of downbeat headlines portraying a GOP takeover as almost inevitable. He helped generate a momentum shift by logging legislative wins on gun reform, veterans' health, microchip production, and a President Joe Biden-backed reconciliation package that was almost two years in the making.
Critics dinged Schumer for devoting more time early in the 117th Congress fending off potential progressive primary challengers rather than trying to outmaneuver Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Pinion, who didn't have to endure a GOP primary this year, previously ran for a New York State Assembly seat in 2018. He lost by 20 points to then-Democratic newcomer Nader Sayegh.
Voting history in New York
Schumer has held the seat since 1999, serving as Senate minority leader throughout the Trump administration. The four-term lawmaker claimed the leadership gavel in January 2021 after Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock of Georgia won their run-off races to flip control of the chamber from Republican rule.
Biden beat Donald Trump in the Empire State by nearly 2 million votes in 2020. Schumer got 71% of the vote during his 2016 reelection bid.
The money race
According to OpenSecrets, Schumer had a massive cash advantage: He raised $40.2 million, spent $35.5 million, and had $15.4 million of cash on hand, as of October 19. His opponent, Pinion, raised $444,000, spent $432,000, and had about $12,000 cash on hand, as of October 19.
As of November 7, a half-dozen super PACs and other non-candidate groups had combined to spend about $83,000, mostly to advocate against Schumer — a meager amount by US Senate race standards and an indication the race is not competitive.
What experts say
The race between Schumer and Pinion was rated as "Solid Democratic" by Inside Elections and The Cook Political Report, and "Safe Democratic" by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
Read the original article on Business Insider
