BUFFALO, N.Y. -- In the 3-month period covering July, August and September, Democrat Nate McMurray raised 15 times more money in campaign contributions than Republican Congressman Chris Collins. Despite that, Collins still has more than double the funds "cash on hand", according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
McMurray brought in $519,846.94 in the third quarter. His campaign said 5,700 people made donations with the average contribution coming in below $70. 2 On Your Side was not able to independently verify those claims, because federal law doesn't require all donations be itemized.
READ MORE: MCMURRAY CAMPAIGN QUARTERLY FILING SUMMARY
READ MORE: MCMURRAY CAMPAIGN ITEMIZED CONTRIBUTIONS
READ MORE: MCMURRAY CAMPAIGN ITEMIZED EXPENDITURES
Among the itemized contributions reviewed by 2 On Your Side, 88% were made from people who live in New York State. The majority of those were from people in Western New York.
McMurray also received donations from 31 groups -- including PACs and other committees. Those added up to $60,300, or about 12% of the total itemized donations.
The Collins campaign criticized McMurray for taking $2,700 from a PAC controlled by Governor Andrew Cuomo, $2,000 from the committee for Rep. Steny Hoyer -- who is the House Minority Whip, and $1,000 from Rosie O'Donnell.
"He's begged for support from Nancy Pelosi's dark money groups and is proud to be endorsed by progressive labor unions ties to Gov Cuomo," a Collins spokesperson said in a statement.
McMurray spent $167,757.45 during this reporting period. Much of that money went for online advertisements and printing. McMurray didn't start airing ads on television -- which are the most expensive part of a Congressional campaign -- until this month, which was after this latest filing period.
As of October 1, McMurray had $433,557.72 cash on hand. Compare that to $1,024,002.29 for Congressman Collins.