Republican NY-1 hopeful Randy Altschuler’s campaign announced this morning that he has raised $256,628 over the past three months – his best fundraising quarter to date.

In addition, the Long Island businessman kicked in another $500,000 of his own cash to fund his congressional bid, campaign spokesman Rob Ryan confirmed. Ryan couldn’t immediately say whether this was a loan or a straight contribution.

UPDATE1: The $500,000 is another loan, Ryan reports.

According to his last FEC filing, Altschuler has loaned his campaign $1.06 million and contributed $450,000 through the end of March. The report that will be available on Thursday covers the period from April 1 to June 30.

Altschuler’s campaign now has $1,810,595 on hand, which he called “an extremely strong position for any candidate running for the House,” adding:

We are prepared to raise and spend what it takes to win this election and this quarter proved we have the fundraising muscle needed to make that happen. We will win the GOP primary and defeat Tim Bishop in November.”

No word yet on spending. Altschuler had spent $563,233 through the end of March.

The GOP primary in NY-1 has become increasingly heated, with both Altschuler, who has the Conservative Party bnod, and George Demos focused mainly on slamming the third contender, Chris Cox, (although Demos has an “outsourcing clock” on his campaign Website – a clear hit at Altschuler, who has made his money by outsourcing jobs overseas).

Republicans and Conservatives in NY-1 are awaiting the petition and campaign finance deadlines this week with much anticipation, since it has been widely speculated that Cox’s reports will show he has both had trouble raising money (he recently saw the wholesale departure of all McCain advisors from his campaign) and collecting signatures necessary to get onto the ballot.

UPDATE2: Also, earlier today Altschuler announced he has landed the formal endorsement of the House Republican whip, Rep. Eric Cantor, who campaigned with the candidate last week.

“Randy Altschuler has overcome obstacles and achieved success as a businessman through hard work, determination and sacrifice,” Cantor said in a statement released by the Altschuler campaign.

“His success in building companies and creating hundreds of jobs for hard working Americans is just the kind of experience Suffolk County residents need in Washington to help get our economy moving forward again. I’m proud to endorse his candidacy for Congress and I look forward to working beside him in Congress to fight for common sense conservative values on behalf of the American people.”

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