Source: Mark Murphy Raises $100 K, Hires Tucker Green

Congressional candidate Mark Murphy, a Democrat running against embattled Republican Congressman Michael Grimm, has raised $100,000 in the last week for his nascent campaign, according to a source close to Murphy’s campaign. That strong fundraising has come in the wake of a New York Times report last Saturday that Grimm took illegal campaign cash from foreign donors, a story that has thrown Grimm’s political future into question and buoyed Democratic hopes of retaking the seat.

The person leading Murphy’s efforts has been well-known fundraiser Tucker Green, of Tucker Green Consulting, who recently came aboard Murphy’s campaign, the source added. Green did the fundraising for David Yassky’s 2009 comptroller campaign, before raising money for Nassau County DA Kathleen Rice’s well-funded 2010 run for attorney general. And Green has since helped Rice raise a whopping $900,000 over the past six months, even though Rice isn’t actively running for any office.

As Grimm’s troubles have mounted, there have been increasing whispers that another serious Democratic candidate could jump into the Democratic primary against Murphy, but a strong fundraising start could potentially help ward off challengers. Murphy already has the implicit support for a run of the Staten Island Democratic Party.