Upstate NY congressman raises record $585,000 after facing angry crowds

Post Standard, Syracuse, NY ^ | April 17, 2017 at 3:19 PM | By Mark Weiner | mweiner@syracuse.com

[Behind Liberal Lines]

WASHINGTON -- The Upstate New York congressman who faced overflowing crowds of protesters at town hall meetings managed to raise a record amount of money after the protests gained national attention.

U.S. Rep. Tom Reed raised $585,282 in the first quarter of the year, a personal high for the fourth-term Republican from Corning.

Reed's cash haul more than doubled the amount raised by each of the other members of Congress from Upstate New York, according to new disclosure reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

"We are off to our best start ever with more than a half-million dollars in the bank and increased engagement from our supporters," said Nicholas Weinstein, Reed's political director.

Reed faced protesters at a series of town hall meetings in the 23rd Congressional District over the past two months, attracting national media attention as he held eight meetings while many of his Upstate Republican colleagues refused to meet with the public.

Reed used the protests to his advantage, sending out a fundraising email to those in the "silent majority."

"The past few months have seen liberals stepping up their attacks against us, trying to stop us from fulfilling our promises to cut regulations, create jobs and stand up for constitutional, limited government," Reed wrote in one email. "They have occupied our offices, flooded our Town Hall meetings and continue their weekly protests against our common-sense agenda."

Reed defeated Democrat John Plumb, a former U.S. Navy captain, in the November election, winning 58 percent of the vote. The 11-county district covers the Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Western New York, including Ithaca and Tompkins County.

[Jimmy Valentine's brother]

A clear demonstration of Newton third law of motion, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction,