Dem congressional primary in 3rd District tops campaign fundraising

WASHINGTON — The race among five Democrats to replace Rep. Tom Suozzi in the 3rd District has become the most competitive and expensive congressional contest on Long Island ahead of the Aug. 23 primary, new campaign finance reports show.

Those candidates already had raised a combined $3.6 million, spent $1.5 million and had $2.1 million in the bank at the end of June with seven weeks to go before the primary, according to their filings for March through June with the Federal Election Commission.

“Based on fundraising, prior electoral experience and organizational, and other influential sources of support, this race is truly up for grabs,” Lawrence Levy, dean of Hofstra University’s National Center for Suburban Studies, told Newsday.

The campaign money race also has heated up for two other Long Island open seats — five Democrats are competing in the 4th District in Nassau County after Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-Garden City) chose not to run again and four Republicans in the 1st District are seeking to replace Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), who is running as the Republican nominee for governor.

With a rare August primary — at a time when nobody is thinking about politics and half the Island is away on vacation — money will be more important than ever to get out campaign messages on TV, radio and social media and to get their supports out to vote.

Here is a rundown of the money race by district.

3rd District

Leading the money race for the seat left open by Suozzi after his failed bid for governor is Nassau County Legis. Josh Lafazan, who raised $532,220 last quarter and $1.5 million overall.

His top rivals are Democratic National Committeeman Robert Zimmerman with a $324,342 quarter and $1.2 million overall and former North Hempstead supervisor Jon Kaiman, who collected $196,466 in the last quarter and $569,939 overall.

Also in the race are community organizer Melanie D’Arrigo, who raised $79,357 last quarter and $376,329 in total, and businesswoman Reema Rasool, who reported a $20,390 quarter and $82,946 total.

Looking ahead to the primary for the top three fundraisers, Lafazan reported $887,752 in cash on hand as of June 30, Zimmerman $757,268 and Kaiman $352,515.

Amid the Democratic scramble, Republican George Santos enters the primary without a challenger and with support from the local and national party. He raised $312,050 last quarter and $1.9 million overall. He reported he had $912,658 in the bank.

4th District

In a scramble to replace Rice, former Hempstead Town Supervisor Laura Gillen has taken the fundraising lead, with a $298,119 quarter and $533,714 overall. Close behind is Malverne Mayor Keith Corbett, who raised $241,894 last quarter and $400,704 overall.

Nassau County Legis. Carrié Solages raised $48,414 last quarter for a total of $143,385, physician Muzib Huq reported a $8,670 quarter and $30,720 overall, and Kevin Shakil-Menendez reported raising $12,843 last quarter for a total of $71,344.

Gillen reported having $385,241 in the bank, Corbett $310,838, Solages $82,865, Shakil-Menendez $996 and Huq $371.

The GOP-backed candidate, Hempstead Town Councilman Anthony Desposito, raised $545,320 last quarter, giving him a total of $575,220.

He had $549,615 in cash on hand.

Bill Staniford, the former PropertyShark executive, launched a campaign as a Republican but appeared to be pulling back in the last quarter. He reported raising only $19, and has repaid himself another $10,000 — for a total of $110,000 — of his $199,500 loan to his campaign.

1st District

GOP-backed Nick LaLota, chief of staff to the Suffolk County Legislature, reported a $123,051 quarter and $405,250 in contributions overall with $326,048 in cash on hand.

He faces three challengers.

Michelle Bond, leader of the cryptocurrency Association for Digital Asset Markets, jumped into the race with a largely self-funded campaign — a $600,000 loan and $145,309 contribution. She raised $243,845 mostly from out of state and had $814,097 in cash on hand.

Anthony Figliola, a lobbyist with Empire Government Strategies, reported a $14,500 quarter and $43,150 total. He said he had $7,019 in the bank. Cate Corrigan, a Christian minister, raised $13,875 for a total of $53,415 and had $2,323 in cash.

Among Democrats, Suffolk County Legis. Bridget Fleming leads with $362,568 raised last quarter and $1.2 million overall, with $516,433 in cash on hand.

2nd District

Garbarino, the only incumbent running for reelection to Congress from Long Island, had hoped to have a clear shot at a rematch with former Democratic Babylon Town Council member Jackie Gordon.

But Garbarino faces a challenge from two Republicans running to his right — America First member Robert Cornicelli and New York Police Detective Mike Rakebrandt.

Garbarino has the money advantage — he raised $570,517 last quarter for a total of $2.5 million with $1.6 million in the bank.

Cornicelli had a $46,286 quarter with $259,078 raised overall. He has $106,689 in cash on hand. Rakebrandt has raised just $6,453 and had $713 in the bank.

Meanwhile, Gordon collected $439,713 last quarter for a total of $918,849, with $558,407 in cash on hand.

Editor's Note -- An earlier version of this story had an incorrect number for the total amount that D'Arrigo raised.