ALBANY - The Democrat in the race to replace U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in New York's 20th Congressional district has raised a bit more campaign money than his opponent, but both sides are close.

Venture capital manager Scott Murphy reports more than $899,000 in donations. He also lent his campaign $250,000 to boost the total to about $1.15 million.

Republican Jim Tedisco has collected $836,000 in donations, and a $200,000 loan or guarantee from the candidate also put his total just past $1 million.

Murphy's campaign has spent more than $705,000 and has about $443,000 left.

Tedisco has spent more than $567,000 so far and has about $467,000 on hand.

The finance reporting covered from Jan. 1 to March 11. The election is March 31.

A special election plays out more quickly than a regular election. With such a compressed period to collect, fundraising is intense and has been boosted by strong national party support in the 20th district race.

In last year's race in the 21st Congressional district - next door to the 20th - Democrat Paul Tonko raised a total of about $750,000 over the entire election cycle. His GOP opponent, Jim Buhrmaster, took in about $500,000, including $195,000 in loans. Tonko won.

By comparison, the special election fundraising “seems like a lot of money in a very short time frame,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Poll. “Also, this is not a high-priced media district. In other words: You're not buying New York City TV.”

The candidates are running to fill the vacancy left after Gov. David Paterson appointed Gillibrand, a Democrat, to take Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate seat.

Tedisco is the state Assembly's minority leader.

A Siena College poll last week showed him leading the race 45 to 41 percent, with a 3.7 point margin of error. Tedisco's lead was 46 to 34 percent in the last week of February.

As the first general election since President Barack Obama took office, the race getting national attention.

For Republicans, a win would mean they still have a place in the Northeast after two dismal election cycles in heavily Democratic New York.

Democrats want to secure their hold on the district, which was safely Republican for decades until Gillibrand took it from John Sweeney in 2006.

The district has more than 196,000 registered Republicans and 125,000 Democrats. There are also 118,000 unaffiliated voters.

The district includes Dutchess, Essex, Columbia, Delaware, Greene, Otsego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties.