Democratic Representative Josh Riley of New York has come under scrutiny for accepting campaign funds from a left-leaning activist group,.
Voters of Tomorrow PAC, which advocates for the abolition of cash bail, as revealed by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The group's donation of $1,000 to Riley's reelection campaign was disclosed in his Q1 Federal Election Commission (FEC) report.
Despite his initial portrayal as a moderate Democrat who has supported several GOP-backed legislations, Riley's acceptance of donations from left-wing groups advocating for the elimination of cash bail and other progressive policies has raised eyebrows.
Representing New York's 19th congressional district, a swing seat in upstate New York that President Donald Trump nearly clinched in 2024, Riley's political career has been marked by narrow victories. He defeated Republican Representative Marc Molinaro by less than 10,000 votes in a November rematch of the district's 2022 contest, where he had lost to Molinaro by less than 5,000 votes.
Riley's seat is one of the 26 districts targeted by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) in the upcoming midterms. The NRCC has criticized Riley for accepting donations from groups advocating for the abolition of cash bail, labeling such policies as "soft on crime".
"Out of touch Democrat Josh Riley is a con man," NRCC spokesperson Maureen OToole told the DCNF. "Hes desperately trying to dupe voters, but his record proves that he has been pushing radical soft on crime policies that are a threat to his district since day one. Josh Riley has no business being in Congress and he cannot be trusted to keep his constituents safe.
The abolition of cash bail for most misdemeanors and some low-level felonies was enacted in New York under the leadership of former Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2019. The policy has been heavily criticized by Republicans and some Democrats for failing to deter repeat offenders and contributing to a rise in crime. A study by the John Jay College of Criminal Justices Data Collaborative for Justice in February 2024 found that approximately 65% of individuals released without bail under New Yorks state law who had a recent prior arrest were rearrested within two years of release.
Voters of Tomorrow, the group that donated to Riley's campaign, advocates for the abolition of cash bail among other progressive criminal justice reforms. The group's policy page states, It is not enough to not be racist; we must be actively anti-racist, and calls for dismantling all institutions that continue to perpetuate racism against People of Color. The group also argues that the federal government must end the abusive practices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to prevent them from further terrorizing human beings.
The group's stance on cash bail is outlined in a Gen Z Agenda 2024 document: If the justice system has policies or laws in place that have a monetary value tied to them, then those policies only apply to low-income people, the group states. No one should have to remain in prison for the duration of their case just because they do not have the financial means to pay their bail. Cash bail only applies to low-income people and we need equal justice.
Voters of Tomorrow endorsed Riley during his 2024 campaign against Molinaro. The group also backed former Vice President Kamala Harris, contributing nearly $30,000 in support of her presidential run, according to OpenSecrets.
Riley's 2022 and 2024 campaigns also received significant funding from the New York Working Families Party (NY-WFP), a left-wing group that advocates for the abolition of cash bail. The NY-WFP has resisted efforts to amend state law, stating we will not go back to cash bail. We refuse to return to a time when the wealthy could buy their way out of jail while poor New Yorkers sat behind bars, former NY-WFP state director Sochie Nnaemeka wrote in a statement.
In 2022, the NY-WFP contributed more than $21,000 to Rileys first run against Molinaro, per FEC documents. He also received $2,500 from the left-wing partys national PAC. The NY-WFP has also disputed linkages between crime and the elimination of cash bail requirements, arguing in May 2023 that toughening the law to give judges more discretion over holding defendants before trial were right-wing talking points to incarcerate more Black and brown people to appease moderate voters.
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told the Wall Street Journal in March that the states elimination of cash bail for most criminal offenses in addition to other so-called criminal justice reforms have rendered the criminal justice system in New York City a high-speed revolving door for recidivists. This statement underscores the concerns of many conservatives who argue that such policies compromise public safety and fail to deter repeat offenders.
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