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2026 New York District 7 House Election

Nydia Velázquez (D) — retiring

About this race

With the current officeholder retiring, this seat will have a new winner. This is among the most solidly Democratic districts in the nation. Nobody in this race has donations linked to AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group, according to available records.

Key issues in New York

Major issues facing New York, based on 2025–2026 reporting. Compare them with what each candidate says they focus on below.

Candidates & funding

Claire Valdez Democrat Nominee

✓ No AIPAC-linked FEC record
2026 fundraising (FEC)$1,693,312 raised · $1,486,470 spent · $206,842 cash on hand through Jun 30, 2026
Focus: Strengthen unions, guarantee affordable housing and healthcare, abolish ICE, and end war funding.

Melvin Rivera Republican Nominee

✓ No AIPAC-linked FEC record
Focus: 30-year community activist, tenant organizer; housing reform, public safety

Where the money comes from

FEC campaign finance data through Jun 30, 2026. Campaign dollars, by source.

Claire Valdez DMelvin Rivera R
Raised$1.7M—
Individuals$1.6M92%—
PACs & parties$45K3%—
Self-funded$0—
Other$85K5%—
AIPAC-linked*——
Outside spending†——

* AIPAC-linked money is already counted in the rows above — it flags the pro-Israel share, not extra money.

† Independent spending on ads for or against a candidate. It never goes to their campaign.

“Individuals” covers both small-dollar (under $200) and large donors.

Who are the biggest donors?

Every donor ranked by how much they gave, from the candidate’s own FEC filings — individuals, PACs, and party committees all in one list. Expand a candidate to see theirs, then tap any name to learn more about the donor.

Why are so many gifts exactly $10,000? That’s the legal maximum a PAC can give one candidate for the whole cycle — $5,000 for the primary plus $5,000 for the general — so many PACs give the max. Individuals can give up to $3,500 per election.

Claire Valdez 968 donors
FINANCIAL POSITION
Campaign raised$1.7M
Campaign spent$1.5M
Cash on hand$207K
FEC 2026 through 06/30/2026
CANDIDATE-CONTROLLED MONEY
Individuals92%
PACs / committees3%
Self-funding0%
Share of campaign receipts. FEC 2026.
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$6K
  • Individual$6K
  • Individual$6K
  • Labor PAC$5K
  • Labor PAC$5K
  • PAC$5K
  • PAC$5K
  • PAC$5K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K

Showing the 50 biggest of 968 donors. The other 918 gave $738K combined.

Plus $645K from small donors giving under $200 each — those aren’t itemized by name.

See Claire Valdez’s full FEC filings →

These figures come from the candidate’s own itemized FEC reports (2026 cycle, through the coverage date above), with amendments applied and refunds netted. Joint fundraising transfers are left out of the ranking: they’re pass-throughs, and the individual donations behind them are listed above. Bank interest, vendor refunds, and other non-donation receipts are excluded. Donor names are as reported — the same person can appear twice if their name was recorded differently. Independent spending on ads is never included here — see the Outside spending column.

More New York races

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