Incumbent district attorneys in Westchester and Nassau counties have opened up big leads in campaign fundraising, according to reports filed with the Board of Elections. Westchester District Attorney Janet DiFiore has amassed a war chest of $420,092 in her re-election campaign. By contrast, Tony Castro, her opponent in the Sept. 15 Democratic primary, had only $9,193 on hand as of July 11, after a substantial decline in contributions coupled with increased spending. Republican Dan Schorr, who will face the Democratic nominee in November, had $60,341 for the same period.
Ms. DiFiore was elected as a Republican in 2005, besting Mr. Castro by 3 percentage points. She has since switched parties and has been endorsed by Democratic leaders. She reported that she had received $305,396 in contributions in the six months ending July 11, up from $62,815 in the previous six-month period. Her spending increased to $38,303 from $10,945. Mr. Castro had $22,469 in contributions, down from the $103,112 he reported for the six months ending Jan. 11. But he had spent $93,355, an increase from $43,415 in the previous period. Mr. Schorr’s contributions increased to $56,951 from $26,861, while his spending jumped to $115,002 from $9,685.
