By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN — Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice has raised nearly $3 million in the past six months to fund her bid to become state attorney general, bringing her total campaign war chest to $4.14 million, her campaign announced.
Despite the fact that none of the other AG candidate have released their most recent fundraising figures — candidates have until Thursday to do so — Rice's campaign has been quick to sell the numbers as a victory.
“This is the first real test of New Yorkers’ support for candidates in the six-way contest for attorney general, and it’s clear that a great number of them see District Attorney Rice as the best person for the job,” Jeffrey Stein, Rice’s campaign manager, said in a statement Wednesday evening.
"This report makes clear that D.A. Rice will have the resources it takes to win this race."
Rice has more money in the bank than incumbency Eliot Spitzer had at this time in 2002, but less than Cuomo did in 2006, the New York Times reported.
The Nassau DA has been fighting fiercely against a democratic field that includes State Sen. Eric Schneiderman, Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, attorney Sean Coffey and former state insurance superintendent Eric Dinallo.
She may have also gotten a bit of a campaign boost from a car accident her opponent Schneiderman was involved in Monday, which NY1 dubbed a "hit and run." The state senator, who was a passenger in a vehicle that broke the headlight of a NY1 executive's car, said that neither he nor his driver realized any damage had been done.
And for now, Rice does not yet appear to be on the attack, saying only of the accident, "These are clearly very disturbing allegations. Like a lot of New Yorkers, we will be reserving judgment on the incident involving State Senator Schneiderman until all of the facts are made public."
