Mayor Eric Adams’ uphill independent reelection bid raised $1.5 million over the past month, city Campaign Finance Board (CFB) data revealed Wednesday — one day after the panel again denied his claims for millions of dollars in public matching funds.
Hizzoner — who is vying for reelection against socialist Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani — raised his largest haul this election cycle, according to the latest round of campaign finance filings released by the CFB on July 16. The Democratic mayor, who is running as an independent, is also facing off against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who lost the primary to Mamdani by nearly 13 points and is now running in November on his own independent line; Republican Curtis Sliwa; and a third independent candidate, attorney Jim Walden.
“Mayor Adams, displaying the same energy he has applied to governing while delivering for working-class New Yorkers post-COVID, has raised the most during this short period in his history,” Adams’ Campaign Chair Frank Carone said in a statement. “The campaign has raised $1.54 million, which is evidence of the true ‘poll’ signaling NY wants the mayor back for a second term.”
Adams raised the funds between June 11 and July 10 from roughly 1,600 donors, with an average contribution of $935. According to CFB records, a little over half of the total—nearly $825,000—came from New York City-based donors; the remaining $716,000 came from contributors outside of the five boroughs.
The mayor has nearly $4.3 million cash-on-hand, the filings show.
Adams has significantly picked up his fundraising pace after it slowed to a trickle earlier this year, while his now-dismissed federal corruption case was still ongoing. He has been traveling to far-flung locations, including Florida and Las Vegas, to raise money from Trump-aligned influencers and those in the cryptocurrency community.
Adams also received tens of thousands of dollars from employees of the real estate giant SL Green, which owns the Midtown building where his campaign headquarters is reportedly located.
No public matching funds for Adams again
The CFB released the numbers a day after it once again denied Adams over $4 million in public matching funds, a decision it first made last December and has renewed every filing period since. At the time, the board determined “there was reason to believe” that Adams engaged in conduct “detrimental” to the city’s generous matching funds program, due to accusations in his federal indictment that his 2021 campaign defrauded the system.
In rendering its decision, the board also cited Adams’ campaign’s failure to provide the “documents and information” it had requested.
Adams sued the board in federal court in May to try and force its hand, but the case was then tossed by a judge last week. The judge concluded the board had two valid reasons to deny the funds: Adams’ campaign’s failure to provide responses to its requests for information and file conflicts of interest disclosures in a timely manner.
Yet the judge questioned the board’s reliance on the mayor’s federal indictment, which was dismissed by President Trump’s Justice Department earlier this year.
CFB Chair Frederick Schaffer said during the board’s Tuesday meeting that its investigation into Adams’ campaign is still “ongoing.” He said the mayor’s campaign requested that the CFB extend its deadline to file requested documents and information as part of its probe to Aug. 1.
“Because the documents and information requested from the Adams campaign are still outstanding, and have been outstanding since last November, the board determines today that Mayor Adams’ campaign has failed to demonstrate eligibility for public funds at this time,” Schaffer said on Tuesday, before the board voted to approve continuing to withhold the funds from Adams.
Meanwhile, CFB records show that Mamdani raised nearly $854,000 in the latest filing period. On Tuesday, he unlocked nearly $1 million in public matching funds and already has $2.5 million in his campaign account.
Although Mamdani excelled at raising small-dollar in-city donations during the primary, a little over half of his haul came from out-of-state contributors in the latest period, filings showed. He raised $426,300 from donors outside of the city.
Of the amount Mamdani raised, nearly $256,400 is eligible for matching funds, CFB records show.
Cuomo raised just $64,300 over the past month and only has close to $1.2 million cash-on-hand, CFB filings indicate.
“We suspended fundraising in May when we hit our cap for the primary,” Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said in a statement explaining the modest amount raised.
“The campaign did not apply for this round of public funds because we weren’t actively fundraising while we considered next steps,” he added. “That changes today.”
