Election Day 2024 features a close, bitterly contested presidential race and, in New York, a controversial proposed amendment to the state constitution. At the same time, Monroe County voters will decide the outcome in races for Congress, state Senate and Assembly, and some key local offices.
The Democratic Party in the county has a lead in enrollment and campaign donations. However, several Republican candidates are spending sizable amounts in this election cycle, some at historically high levels.
Congressional race
In his fourth race in New York’s 25th Congressional District, incumbent Democratic Rep. Joe Morelle faces a challenge from businessman Gregg Sadwick, the Republican candidate.
Against his last opponent, former Rochester Police Department chief La’Ron Singletary, Morelle won with 54 percent of the votes. That race was closer than the contests in 2020 and 2018, when Morelle won with 56 percent and 57 percent of the total, respectively, but he still had a comfortable margin of some 25,000 votes.
Sadwick has campaigned as a political outsider, stressing both his business acumen and status as a veteran. He also has pitched himself as a moderate, often using the phrase of “Not Left, Not Right, but Forward.”
His policy positions include supporting a woman’s right to an abortion, establishing term limits for Congress, reducing the national debt, strengthening the military and America’s foreign presence, and boosting domestic manufacturing. The Republican candidate has publicly disavowed the controversial Project 2025 and affirmed that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election.
Although he supports a woman’s right to choose, Sadwick supports providing alternatives to Planned Parenthood, specifically the Christianity-based women’s health center Compass Care. He also supports Title IX, but highlights that support is for “biological” women, a term used to exclude transgender women.
On X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, Sadwick has accused presidential nominee Kamala Harris of being a dictator, described fears about climate change as being overblown, and used a metaphor comparing the issue of female reproductive rights to “dog abortions.”
Morelle, who also has served as a county legislator and state Assembly member in his lengthy political career, is running on issues that were central to his last race. Protecting reproductive rights, responding to LGBTQ+ issues, fixing the health care system, and passing “common sense” gun reform remain key elements of his platform. On social media, Morelle has attacked elements of Project 2025—for instance, arguing it would “take away access to free emergency contraception to nearly 3 million women in NY alone.”
Federal Election Commission reports show Morelle’s campaign raised $2,005,787 across all contribution types from Jan. 1, 2023, to Oct. 16, 2024. That amount far outpaced Sadwick, who raised $32,720. The Republican also made $610,000 in loans to his campaign, for $642,720 in total contributions.
A similar mismatch exists in the two candidates’ campaign spending. Morelle’s campaign has spent $1,459,422, while Sadwick’s has spent around a third of that, $516,132.
State Senate
Samra Brouk and Jeremy Cooney, Democrats representing the 55th and 56th state Senate districts, respectively, are running for re-election. Opposing them are political outsider Luis Martinez and former Gates Police Chief Jim VanBrederode.
Both incumbents were elected in 2020. Two years earlier, Cooney had run unsuccessfully against Joe Robach, a former Democrat who switched to the GOP in 2002 and served for nearly three decades in the Assembly and Senate.
Brouk enjoyed comfortable margins of victory in her inaugural election, defeating Christopher Missick, and in 2022 when she faced community leader Len Morrell. Each time, she received at least 57 percent of the total and won by more than 20,000 votes in her district, which covers most of the eastern side of Monroe County and the city of Rochester.
By contrast, Cooney’s margins of victory have been smaller, winning by 11,000 votes in 2020 against Michael Barry Jr. and by 8,000 against VanBrederode in 2022. His district includes the western and southern half of Monroe County, including the town of Brighton.
Martinez, who is running on strong anti-illegal immigrant policies, received $82,056 in total contributions and spent $43,345 as of Oct. 25. In comparison, Brouk, whose focus is on young parents and children, raised $261,965 and spent $67,571.
VanBrederode has spent a considerable amount on his campaign, with over $82,000 toward mailings, online and television advertising. He has brought in $98,606 in total contributions with the majority of it coming from the “public funds” category. (Under the New York State Public Campaign Finance Program, which began in November 2022, candidates running for statewide or state legislative office can qualify for public matching funds based on small donations—$5 to $250—from residents in their district. In state legislative races, a maximum $250 contribution results in $2,300 public matching funds.)
Cooney has centered much of his campaign on neighborhood development through economic opportunity and public safety. He raised $686,629 and spent $443,309.
State Assembly
Republicans are challenging four incumbent Democrats in state Assembly races.
In the 135th District, which stretches from Penfield to Honeoye Falls, self-described “homeschool mom” Kimberly DeRosa is running against Jen Lunsford. The Democrat has held the seat since 2020, when she defeated longtime Republican incumbent Mark Johns by fewer than 1,000 votes.
Lunsford, whose top issues include tax relief for the middle class, the environment, and senior and child care, has spent big in this election. Her campaign finance disclosures list expenditures totaling $153,548—a record amount for local Assembly races. In previous races, Lundsford’s campaign also was a big spender, listing around $100,000 in expenditures. The incumbent Democrat received $219,702 in total contributions as of Oct. 25.
Her opponent, DeRosa, has raised $3,115 and spent $1,548.
In the 136th and 137th districts, incumbents Sarah Clark and Demond Meeks are facing off, for the second time, against Republicans Orlando Rivera and Marcus Williams, respectively.
Clark, whose district includes the towns of Irondequoit and Brighton, was first elected in 2020 with no Republican opposition. In 2022, she defeated Rivera with 66 percent of the vote.
Meeks was also first elected in 2020; his district covers the Crescent neighborhoods in the city of Rochester as well as the town of Gates. This year, he prevailed in a competitive four-person primary, winning out against the Monroe County Democratic Committee’s pick, City Councilmember Willie Lightfoot Jr.
His 2022 race against Williams was the first against a Republican opponent in the district since 2006. Meeks won with 67 percent of the vote.
Williams, who supports nuclear energy and is concerned about drug-related crime, enters the election listing only $455 in contributions in the most recently available campaign finance disclosures. His opening balance listed for this most recent disclosure reported operating at a loss of $839, meaning his fundraising did not cover those expenses already incurred. His expenditures are listed at $830.
In the 138th District, which stretches from the eastern side of the city of Rochester to Churchville and Henrietta, Democrat Harry Bronson is running for reelection against Monroe County Legislator Tracy DiFlorio.
Bronson has held the seat for 11 years, facing a host of challengers from both parties in primary and general elections. Even during midterm election years, which generally have less turnout, the Democratic incumbent, whose priorities include strengthening green jobs, expanding mental health services, and supporting reproductive rights, has secured close to 60 percent of the total vote.
It is DiFlorio’s second time running for the 138th District seat, having lost by 8,000 votes in 2022. She is a longtime political figure in the Chili area, first serving on the town board in 2009. Her campaign lists close to $100,000 in expenditures, far exceeding her spending in the previous race. She spent $96,037 through Oct. 25, nearly as much as she raised.
Bronson’s financial disclosure reports, on the other hand, indicate he has raised about twice as much, $235,594. However, he has spent far less—$10,939 in total expenditures.
Other races
This election cycle also includes a contest for Monroe County clerk between Democratic incumbent Jamie Romeo and Republican challenger Peter Vazquez.
Romeo first won election to the position in 2020 after previously serving as an Assembly member in the 136th District. Vazquez is a military veteran who says he plans to simplify processes at the county level.
A potentially close election is for Monroe County Court judge, where Pittsford Town Justice Michael Ansaldi, a Democrat, is facing off against Republican Joseph Dinolfo, a lawyer for Mental Hygiene Legal Service.
Dinolfo has familial ties to other judgeships, with his brother Vincent serving as a state Supreme Court justice. (Vincent Dinolfo’s wife, Cheryl, served as Monroe County executive from 2016 to 2019.)
The big picture
Local candidates this year are appealing to roughly 580,000 voting-age citizens in Monroe County, of which 485,000 are active enrolled voters. Since 1996, that total has grown, by 17 percent (73,000 voters), in line with New York’s statewide average.
Over the past two decades, more than 55 percent of newly enrolled voters, regardless of political party, were in the towns of Webster, Henrietta, Penfield and Greece (with a net growth of 6,400, 6,200, 4,400 and 4,300 voters, respectively). The smallest growth in enrolled voters occurred in more rural areas, such as the towns of Rush and Wheatland (284 and 159 voters) as well as the city of Rochester, which grew overall enrollment by only 160 voters in that time frame.
The Democratic Party has made tremendous gains in enrollment during that time, growing by 42 percent, from some 140,000 to 200,000 active voters. That outpaces the gains made by Democrats statewide (21 percent), as well as in Onondaga County (35 percent) and Erie County (where Democrats’ enrollment declined 2.7 percent).
Much of the Democrats’ growth occurred in legislative districts in the city of Rochester, where the party’s enrollment increased by 8,000 voters from 2004 to 2023. The towns of Greece, Henrietta, Perinton, and Irondequoit also saw substantial Democratic gains during that time (ranging from 3,800 to 4,800).
The town of Hamlin had the smallest growth in that time period, only adding 18 registered Democrats. No town had a net loss of voters enrolled as Democrats.
Conversely, the Republican Party in the local area has lost ground. From 1996 to 1999 and then 2003 to 2006, Republican-enrolled active voters outnumbered Democrats. However, over the past 28 years, GOP enrollment has fallen by 18.7 percent, from 153,000 to 124,000. That is higher than the statewide 10 percent decline.
The number of enrolled Republicans fell the most in the city of Rochester. From 2004 to 2023, the GOP saw a net loss of 6,900 voters. The towns of Irondequoit and Greece lost about 4,000 Republicans, while Brighton, Perinton, and Pittsford all shrank their net total by over 2,000 GOP voters.
The towns of Parma and Webster saw the most growth in enrolled Republicans during that same time frame, growing by 440 and 390, respectively.
Election years with presidential races historically have the highest rate of turnout among voters in Monroe County, which follows nationwide trends. From 2004 to 2023, turnout averaged 77 percent in presidential elections, compared with 55 percent for midterms and 33 percent for off-cycle elections.
Republicans in the area generally vote at higher rates than Democrats—on average, 7.4 percentage points higher. In fact, the 2008 election was the only case where enrolled Democrats had a higher turnout rate than Republicans, and even then, by a proportionally minuscule amount (83.56 percent of enrolled Democrats compared to 83.53 percent of Republicans).
Jacob Schermerhorn is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and data journalist. The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. Submissions to the Letters page should be sent to [email protected].
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