Robert Zimmerman, the Democratic candidate for the 4th Congressional District, outraised his opponent George Santos in the most recent filing period, collecting $333,000 more than the Republican, according to data from the Federal Election Commission.
Zimmerman raised a total of $825,979.72 compared to Santos’ $492,553.46, from the period starting on Aug. 4 through Sept. 30, according to the figures.
Contributions, spending and cash on hand are tracked in the financial disclosures for this period, which were turned in by Oct. 15.
Santos had a total of $854,030.63 cash on hand at the beginning of the filing period and ended with $603,791. Zimmerman started with $476,668.51 cash on hand and ended with $611,720.31.
The Republican had $42,000 more in operating expenses than Zimmerman, with a total of $726,483.03. Zimmerman had $683,909.92 worth of operating expenses during the filing period.
Individual contributions were the primary source of funding for both candidates throughout this window. Zimmerman raised $575,916.12 worth of individual contributions against Santos’s $222,705.93.
The two candidates’ other major sources of funding came from political committees, such as PACs. Zimmerman raised $144,000 from PACs while Santos raised $41,100.
Zimmerman is co-president of ZE Creative Communications on Bond Street in Great Neck, a public relations firm he started 33 years ago with Ron Edelson and a Democratic national committeeman.
Santos, who ran against Suozzi in 2020, was named a “Young Gun” candidate in the National Republican Congressional Committee’s Young Guns program earlier this year, his campaign said.
Both are running to fill the seat of U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), who ran an unsuccessful campaign for governor earlier this year.
New district maps were submitted recently by a court-appointed special master and have been viewed as more neutral compared to ones that were previously rejected by the state Appeals Court.
While the 3rd Congressional District under the new proposal does not extend as far west as the Bronx or Westchester, it does stretch to more southern parts of Nassau County such as Hicksville and Massapequa. The new lines do exclude the parts of the district that now stretch into Suffolk County, mainly Huntington and Smithtown.
