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Bishop, McCarthy have more cash on hand than opponents

BY GLENN THRUSH | glenn.thrush@newsday.com

July 17, 2008

WASHINGTON - Mineola Mayor Jack Martins may be a long shot to topple Rep. Carolyn McCarthy - but he's raised nearly as much as the six-term incumbent in the past three months, according to new federal campaign filings.

Tim Bishop (D-Southampton), the only other Long Island representative to face an opponent with serious fundraising ability, is hoarding about $1 million to fend off a challenge from Republican Lee Zeldin.

Martins, a Republican, raised about $161,000 since April - only $10,000 less than McCarthy - while loaning his campaign an additional $50,000.

Still, McCarthy (D-Mineola) is a proven fundraiser who has raked in more than $1.5 million in her last three contests. And she has about $657,000 cash on hand, more than three times Martins' war chest.

"I'll never take Carolyn McCarthy and her ability to raise money for granted," said Martins, who plans to air his first cable commercials next week.

Ray Zaccaro, a spokesman for McCarthy said, "We're at an early point on the cycle heading into a very aggressive fundraising program."

Zeldin, who is airing cable ads against Bishop, has collected about $380,000 since January. He has $98,120 cash on hand. But he's $93,768 in debt, owing $73,692 to direct mail vendors.

"We know we're going to be outspent, but we're not going to be outworked," he said.

Bishop spokesman Will Jenkins said his boss enjoys a nearly 10-to-one, cash-on-hand advantage. He said it's a bigger edge "over any other candidate he has defeated in the past."

In the past three months, Bishop has scooped up about $232,000, including checks from novelist E.L. Doctorow and Dennis Arfa, agent for heavy metal band M"tley Crüe.

Rep. Gary Ackerman, who represents Queens and Nassau, has raised about $1.1 million, even though his GOP opponent Gonzalo Manalo Policarpio has not filed fundraising disclosures.

The 12-term congressman - a rabid Mets fan who hosted his daughter's wedding at Shea Stadium - picked up $10,000 from team owner Fred Wilpon and Wilpon's Sterling Equities. He also collected $2,000 from Touro College law professor Sol Wachtler, who was forced to quit his job as the state's top judge following a harassment case in 1992.

Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) also has his own million-dollar war chest, although his Democratic opponent Graham E. Long hasn't reported any donations.

King's contributors include Katuria D'Amato - former Sen. Alphonse D'Amato's wife - and close associates of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, including former fire commissioner Tom Von Essen and Tony Carbonetti, who ran Giuliani's ill-fated presidential campaign.

Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) is sitting atop a Long Island-best, $1.2-million cash heap, despite the absence of a serious opponent. Israel collected $2,000 from the Poker Players Alliance PAC - a pro-Internet gambling group headed by Alphonse D'Amato.

Congressional fundraising

Campaign funds raised by candidates in Long Island's five congressional districts. Incumbents are listed first.

Raised April 1-June 30 Total

1st DISTRICT

Tim Bishop (D) $231,629 $1,016,053