David Lombardo is reporting for Capitol Confidential the state Democratic Senate Campaign Committee was out spent by its GOP counterpart in the November general election. But despite the funding gap, the Democrats still walked away with 39-seat majority. The central fundraising arm for the Senate Democrats spent roughly $7.6 million, while the Republicans shelled out more than $10.6 million, according to the state Board of Elections. In the end, the Democrats won three of five open seats held by the Republicans and defeated five Republican incumbents. Senate Democrats brought in nearly $4.6 million in contributions, while Senate Republicans raised nearly $5.6 million. Lombardo is also reporting Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's campaign spent more than $34.3 million to win the Democratic nomination and secure a third term in the governor's mansion. His Democratic rival, Cynthia Nixon, spent less than $2.6 million in the primary, and GOP candidate Marc Molinaro expended approximately $2.4 million in his bid for the state's top job. Cuomo won the primary by more than 30 percent, and collected 58 percent of the vote in the general election. Lombardo calculates that Cuomo spent slightly less than $8 per vote to claim victory. By comparison, Molinaro spent about $1.15 for each of his 2.09 million votes. The governor's campaign fund still holds more than $5 million, though it's unclear if he will seek a fourth term in 2022. Read both stories in the Times Union.