Bishop Holds Cash Lead in Congressional Race

As campaign season continues in a closely-watched rematch, incumbent Rep. Tim Bishop outraised Randy Altschuler, a businessman from St. James, for the first time in the past four campaign finance filing periods, according to election reports submitted Sunday.

Squared up again after  at the polls, Bishop, D-Southampton, raised about $65,000 more than Altschuler from June 7 to June 30.

Bishop — who raised about $192,000 compared to Altschuler's $127,000 — has about $1.5 million cash on hand, and Altschuler about $800,000.

Diana Weir, a spokeswoman for Altschuler, pointed to the previous three filing periods as wins.

"This one, we didn't. It averages out," she said. "I think Randy has done a tremendous job raising funds and most of his funds are coming from individuals, which shows tremendous support for his agenda, which is getting the economy fixed."

Weir added that a large portion of Bishop's funds so far — roughly 40 percent —have come from political action committees. Over 80 percent of Altschuler's donors have been individuals, though Bishop's camp took a shot at where the money was coming from in a release on Monday, saying that "a mere 16 percent of Randy’s contributions come from within the congressional district."

Lisa Santeramo, a spokeswoman for Bishop, said she believes the filings reflect a tide change in the fundraising race.

“I think it’s pretty clear who really has the momentum in New York’s First Congressional District,” Santeramo said.

While the Republican faces a deficit now, Altschuler was able to rely on one person whose support he knows he has again — himself. Altschuler spent close to $2 million out of his own pocket in the 2010 race.

Details about the campaigns' finance records can be found on the Federal Election Commission's website.