​​Nassau County Legislator Joshua Lafazan (D-Woodbury) raised the most money in the second quarter of 2022 among candidates running in the 3rd Congressional District, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Lafazan raised $532,219.50 from April through June, bringing his campaign fundraising total to $1,535,002, good enough for second among all candidates and first among Democrats running for the district.

Businessman George Santos, the lone Republican vying for his party’s primary, raised $312,050.33, bringing his campaign total to $1,930,103.62, the highest among all candidates.

Lafazan was trailed in fundraising among Democrats by Robert Zimmerman, a businessman and longtime Democratic National Committee member from Great Neck, who raised $324,342.39 in the second quarter, bringing his campaign fund-raising total to $1,241,256.27.

In the first quarter, Zimmerman raised the most money with $916,913.88. 

Former North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman, who currently is Suffolk County deputy executive, raised $196,466 in the second quarter. The quarter brings Kaiman’s campaign total to $582,271.20. Kaiman’s in-state individual contributions total $324,449, according to FEC filings.

Melanie D’Arrigo of Port Washington raised $79,357.20 in the second quarter, giving her a total of $376,329.05 raised since the start of her campaign. $5,050 of her fundraising total has come from political committees.

Oyster Bay businesswoman Reena Rasool raised $20,390 in the second quarter, bringing her campaign fund-raising total to $82,946.

Lafazan touted his fundraising totals.

“I feel so confident about the direction our campaign is going,” Lafazan said in a statement. “Every day I meet people in Nassau and Queens who simply want representatives who will rise above the divisive rhetoric and in-fighting in Congress and use common sense to work with anyone who will get things done.”

Of individual contributions to Lafazan’s campaign, $798,935 has come from New York residents.

Financial disclosures for this period, which were submitted by July 15, track contributions, money spent and cash on hand from April 1 to June 30.

Some $36,000 of Lafazan’s total contributions in the latest quartr came from a personal loan. Without it, Lafazan’s totals are still tops among Democratic candidates for the quarter.

Lafazan has now loaned $166,000 to the campaign since he announced his candidacy. Of his contributions, $1,000 has come from political committees.

Along with his legislative duties, Lafazan is an adjunct professor at Long Island University and works with Northwell Health where he focuses on corporate social responsibility with an emphasis on environmental sustainability, according to his campaign.

State residents contributed $705,273.25 to Zimmerman’s campaign. $37,250 of Zimmerman’s total contributions have come from political committees.

Santos has received $439,159.26 in individual contributions from residents of the state. Santos has loaned $580,000 to his campaign while paying back $31,200, according to FEC filings. He has received $113,185 in political action committee money.

Some $5,250 of Kaiman’s contribution total has come from political committees. 

D’Arrigo has raised $139,132.38 in individual contributions from the state.

Rasool has raised $25,500 from in-state individual contributors throughout her campaign.

The candidates are running for the seat being vacated by Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), who recently lost the Democratic primary for governor to Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Suozzi recently endorsed Lafazan to replace him in Washington. 

Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State, First Lady and U.S. senator from New York, endorsed Zimmerman this week. Zimmerman was also endorsed by Queens Congressman Grace Meng last week.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy recently endorsed Santos. 

New district maps were submitted recently by a court-appointed special master and have been viewed as more neutral compared to ones that were rejected by a state appeals court several weeks ago.

The changes removed state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi from running for the 3rd District. She is now running against U.S. Rep. Sean Maloney in the state’s 17th Congressional District

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.