According to the latest campaign figures, there is little doubt that Representative Lee Zeldin faces an extremely uphill battle in his bid to oust Governor Kathy Hochul of New York.
Hochul, a Democrat, has a fundraising edge over Mr. Zeldin, a conservative Republican from Long Island heading into their general election.
Ms Hochul reported $11.7 million in the bank in mid-July, compared with just $1.57 million for Mr Zeldin, the report filed late Friday showed.
But perhaps the best example of the governor’s fundraising advantage – and, perhaps, her winning conviction in November – is the nearly $1 million her campaign has passed to the Democratic Party. state owners, more than half of them before she won the primaries. at the end of June.
The $950,000 transfer is higher than the less than $900,000 Mr. Zeldin reported in the most recent period (June 14-July 11), about 60% from donors who put in $5,000. la.
However, the largest source of single donations listed in Mr. Zeldin’s financial disclosure statements came not from an individual donor – but from consolidated, unnamed contributions.
Campaigns are not required to report the names of people who donate no more than $99. Many campaigns do, anyway; For example, Ms. Hochul did not list consolidated donations in reports from last August.
Mr. Zeldin did the opposite. During the last year, the congressman reported at least $897,636 from consolidated donors, 10% of all money to the Zeldin advocacy committee for New York during that time, records show. Mr. Zeldin’s campaign did not immediately respond to questions from The New York Times.
In his latest report, Mr. Zeldin said he had received $72,546 from consolidated donors.
Hochul raised more than $2 million between mid-June and early last week, about $1.8 million (86%) of which was $5,000 or more. She break previous records in a single state report in January, and she has trailed her rivals in both parties ever since.
Mrs. Hochul’s campaign is hope to raise up to $70 million for her race at a time when Democrats across the country face the wind because of sky-high inflation and President Biden’s sagging approval ratings. She’s already amassed half that ambitious amount, with about $35 million raised since she was sworn in as governor on August 24 last year, after Andrew M. Cuomo stepped down because of that. accused of sexually harassing several women.
