Republican congressional candidate Kieran Michael Lalor of Peekskill has raised a little less than $500,000 in his underdog bid to unseat freshman Democratic Rep. John Hall of Dover, according to a new campaign finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission.

But the $490,115 Lalor raised through Sept. 30 is less than a quarter of the $2.07 million in contributions received by Hall in the campaign to represent the 19th Congressional District that encompasses Putnam County and parts of Westchester, Dutchess, Rockland and Orange counties.

Hall, a songwriter and former member of the musical group Orleans, has been able to draw upon his friends in the music industry and the district’s wealthy residents in places such as northern Westchester to help finance his re-election bid.

Lalor, a political novice and Iraq war veteran, has struggled to keep the race competitive as the war has been overshadowed by the nation’s economic crisis and the possibility of a deep recession.

Using campaign cash as a measure of how the race has developed, Hall entered the final weeks with a definitive advantage.

As of Sept. 30, Hall had $742,034 in unspent campaign cash while Lalor had $75,081.

Lalor, for his part, said he’s not discouraged because he overcame numerous obstacles just to get the GOP nomination.

“I’ve always been an underdog on cash,” Lalor said. “I’m running against a pop star.”

New campaign filings show Hall maintained an edge in fundraising between Aug. 21 and Sept. 30, raising $202,000 to Lalor’s $114,000. Independent political handicappers such as Stuart Rothenberg and Charles Cook, who once rated the race as among the top 50 nationally, no longer consider it competitive.

Lalor said Hall has conducted private polling and would have released the findings if he had a sizable lead because “it could put me out of business.”

Hall described the polling as proprietary information that won’t be released for a variety of reasons.

“My predecessor took me for granted, so I don’t take anyone for granted,” Hall said, referring to former Republican Rep. Sue Kelly whom he unseated in 2006. “I just run like crazy and just wait until the polls close.”

Source: Poughkeepsie Journal