Syracuse, N.Y. – State Sen. Chris Ryan and James Corl III agree on at least one point in their battle for the 50th Senate District seat in Central New York: Experience is one of the defining issues of the election.
But they have very different views on whether experience is an asset or a liability for a state lawmaker.
“I think the biggest difference is experience,” Ryan, 54, said, when asked what separates him from Corl. “Life experience, legislative experience, working experience are all part of the difference.”
Ryan, D-Geddes, is a first-term senator and father of four who has spent 21 years serving as an elected official in town, county and state government – almost as long as Corl has been alive.
Corl, 24, a Republican from Cicero, is making his first bid for public office. He graduated from Le Moyne College in 2022 and worked for almost three years as legislative director for state Sen. Mark Walczyk, R-Watertown.
Corl said he’s campaigning against the status quo in Albany and views Ryan as part of the problem.
“I think this is a race between politics as usual and a new generation of leadership,” Corl said. “We need to focus on the issues that will help young people like me stay here and raise families.”
Both agree that the affordability crisis, and particularly the cost of energy, is a top issue in the 50th District election, one of the most expensive and closely watched political races in Central New York this year.
Both candidates favor an all-of-the-above strategy to produce more energy and would like to see a new nuclear power plant built in Oswego County. Corl, unlike Ryan, opposes large-scale solar energy installations.
But any debate on those issues has largely been overshadowed by outside political groups that have taken a brass-knuckles approach to the election, airing a series of bruising attack ads against Corl.
A political action committee calling itself New York Future has spent more than $911,000 in the final weeks of the campaign on TV commercials, campaign mailers and digital ads supporting Ryan and ripping into Corl.
The Dallas-registered PAC is backed by $8 million in donations from the online sports betting industry, led by gambling titans FanDuel and DraftKings.
The group’s big spending in the 50th Senate District election is far more than it has put behind any other candidate in the state this year.
None of the group’s ads for Ryan or against Corl highlight sports betting or gambling. Instead, the ads paint a picture of Corl as a candidate with extreme policies.
“Corl has proposed sweeping budget cuts that would defund local law enforcement offices, schools, Meals on Wheels for Syracuse seniors, and grants for Holocaust survivors,” New York Future stated on its website and in some ads.
Corl said the ads are false and misleading. His lawyer sent a cease-and-desist letter to New York Future demanding that the groups stop distributing the campaign material.
In fact, Corl said he wants to increase funding for law enforcement and did not propose a cut in funding for any specific group, including funding for Meals on Wheels and Holocaust survivors.
New York Future said its ads are based on Corl’s proposal to cut all “lump sum” discretionary spending from the state budget. That money has been distributed in the past to public safety agencies and nonprofit groups across Central New York.
New York Future declined to explain why it’s boosting Ryan or what interest it has in state politics.
But its involvement in the 50th Senate District election comes as online sports betting companies have spent at least $72 million nationwide in the midterm elections, trying to stave off competition from prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket.
Ryan told Syracuse.com| The Post-Standard that he has serious concerns about allowing companies in the prediction markets to enter New York state, where they are not licensed to operate sportsbooks.
Corl said he is undecided about allowing prediction markets to operate into the state.
Separately, the state Democratic Senate Campaign Committee has gone on the offensive against Corl.
The group paid for an attack website that claims Corl is “a right-wing extremist with zero qualification for state Senate”
The website said its claim is based simply on the New York Conservative Party’s endorsement of Corl. It has nothing to do with his platform.
Ryan said he has no ties to the political groups that are attacking Corl and has no control over their messages. State election law bars candidates from coordinating their campaigns with independent political action committees, or PACs.
But Corl said the ad blitz and attacks are one reason some people have lost faith in government and don’t participate in elections.
“I think it’s very disappointing,” Corl said of the attacks. “I called the senator before I announced my run. I told him I want this to be a clean, professional campaign that focuses on the issues and not on personal attacks on one candidate or the other.”
Corl said he supports campaign finance reforms aimed at removing the influence of money in elections.
Ryan said he also thinks there’s too much money spent by groups who want to influence elections, and he also would support proposals in Albany for campaign finance reforms.
The 50th District, which spans parts of Onondaga and Oswego counties, has attracted interest from political groups outside of the region because it has been one of the most competitive Senate seats over the past decade.
Ryan defeated Republican Nick Paro by less than 1 percentage point in 2024 to win the seat left vacant by Democrat John Mannion, who was elected to Congress.
Mannion won two close elections for the Senate seat, including one by 10 votes in 2022.
The 50th District spans the towns of Clay, Cicero, Camillus, Manlius, DeWitt, Geddes and Salina in Onondaga County and includes the cities of Fulton and Oswego in Oswego County.
The district is almost evenly split among Republicans (71,726), Democrats (68,177) and independent voters (65,829) who are not enrolled in a political party.
Corl said he got to know every part of the district by walking 170 miles across the two counties from June 8 through June 18. He said he also knocked on more than 3,000 doors while out campaigning.
He said it was a great experience that also taught him a powerful lesson as he introduced himself to strangers at places like the Speedway Tavern on Route 11 in Hastings. Some had no interest in hearing anything about elections.
“A few people said, ‘We’re not interested because we’re not voting this year.’ I asked them why, and they told me they lost faith in the system,” Corl said.
Corl, a fourth-generation Central New Yorker whose father (former Onondaga County legislator Jim Corl Jr.) and grandfather (former Cicero GOP Chair Jim Corl Sr.) have been involved in Cicero politics, said he found those comments disappointing.
If elected, Corl said he would walk across the district every year with the goal of listening to voters and working to restore their trust in government.
Corl said he believes Albany’s budget priorities under Democratic control of the state Legislature are misplaced. For example, he would eliminate New York’s $800 million film tax credit program.
“We need to invest in what our communities need, like more funding for water and sewer projects, and help for police and firefighters,” Corl said. “A lot of our volunteer fire departments are hurting right now.”
He supports legislation that would limit increases in state government spending each year to no more than the rate of inflation.
Corl said he also supports a Republican bill that would cut the state gas tax of about 25 cents per gallon. The tax would be gradually phased out when the price of gasoline reaches $2.25 per gallon and eliminated when the price rises above $3 per gallon.
Ryan said he is campaigning on his record. He served six years as a Geddes town councilor and 13 years as an Onondaga County legislator. In his first term as a member of the state Senate, Ryan said he passed 65 bills.
Among his top accomplishments, Ryan lists his legislation that extended the deadline for schools to switch to electric school buses. The state budget gave school districts five more years, until 2032, before they must stop buying buses with combustion engines. The original deadline was set for 2027.
Ryan also succeeded in convincing state lawmakers to provide the initial funding for a massive sewage pipeline that would be built across Oswego County. Planners say the pipeline will open up 30,000 acres for new housing and industrial development near Micron Technology.
The state budget included $12 million for the 22-mile pipeline, known as the Southern Oswego County Regional Interceptor Sewer, or SOCRIS
Ryan said he’s proud of his bill to ban synthetic kratom from being sold in New York. The bill passed the Assembly and Senate (61-0) and is awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature.
Synthetic kratom is sometimes referred to as 7-OH or as “gas station heroin” because it is often sold in gas stations and convenience stores in packaging resembling candy or energy drinks. New York would become the eighth state to ban synthetic kratom.
Fundraising and spending
Ryan has benefited from a significant fundraising advantage over Corl throughout the campaign.
Ryan raised more than $763,000 for his campaign account since the start of the year, state records show.
His campaign committee spent about $587,000 as of Oct. 1 and entered the final month before the election with a balance of $363,076.
Since the start of the year, Corl’s campaign raised about $65,000 and received an additional $375,000 from the state’s public campaign finance program. The program provides matching funds for donations of up to $250 per person for those living in the district.
Corl spent almost $245,000 on his campaign as of Oct. 1 and entered the final month before the election with a balance of $138,910 in his campaign account.
The totals for each candidate do not include expenditures made by independent political groups such as New York Future.
Members of the 63-person New York State Senate are paid a base salary of $142,000 per year.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Early voting will take place across New York from Saturday, Oct. 24 through Sunday, Nov. 1.