Like the 24th Congressional District race, the state Senate race pitting Republican nominee Bob Antonacci against Democratic hopeful John Mannion was expensive.
A review of state campaign finance records found more than $2.85 million was spent on the 50th Senate District race. The sum includes expenditures by Antonacci, Mannion and outside groups.
Antonacci defeated Mannion by two percentage points in the 50th district race. The GOP candidate held a narrow lead on election night. Mannion won the absentee count in Onondaga County, but Antonacci won the race by more than 2,300 votes.
The largest spender in the central New York state Senate campaign was Fighting For Our Future, a super political action committee aligned with New York State United Teachers, an influential teachers union. The labor group endorsed Mannion, an Advanced Placement biology teacher, early in the race.
Fighting For Our Future invested $1.26 million into the 50th district race. Much of that money was spent on digital and television ads supporting Mannion or targeting Antonacci.
