NYC Mayor’s Challengers Boost Fundraising Haul After Indictment

(Bloomberg) — Obstacles keep mounting for New York Mayor Eric Adams in his bid to win a second term.

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Seven candidates challenging him in the June Democratic primary posted significant fundraising numbers late Wednesday, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars and helping level the financial playing field more than five months ahead of the election.

At least five challengers have so far raised enough money from enough donors to meet the threshold to enter the city’s generous public matching funds system, which pays out $8 for every $1 raised from a city resident, up to $250. The program can boost a mayoral candidate’s fundraising haul by millions of dollars.

The numbers released this week come as Adams faces a complicated road to winning reelection. He was indicted in September on federal corruption charges and is currently scheduled to stand trial in late April, a little more than two months before the June 24 contest. He has pleaded not guilty.

Adams’ reelection campaign reported raising more than $270,000 in the past three months, accelerating his fundraising pace. In October he reported raising just $190,000 over the previous six-month period, his lowest haul since he became mayor in January 2022.

The city Campaign Finance Board said in December it wouldn’t pay out more than $4.3 million in public matching funds the Adams campaign had hoped to receive. That would have brought the mayor’s cash haul to the maximum allowable amount, effectively ending the need to spend time soliciting money from donors.

Adams’ campaign has said it can address issues raised by the board and still potentially receive matching funds money before the election.

Adding to the mayor’s challenges is an approval rating hovering near record lows. A poll published in Politico in late December found three challengers — former city Comptroller Scott Stringer, current Comptroller Brad Lander and Queens state Senator Jessica Ramos — would beat Adams.

If he loses the primary, which is typically decisive in a city with an overwhelming Democratic voter advantage, Adams could become just the second incumbent mayor in the last half-century to lose a reelection bid, following in the footsteps of the late David Dinkins.

The field of likely candidates has swelled since the indictment. Newer entrants include Queens Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson, former Assembly Member Michael Blake and attorney Jim Walden.

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Fundraising totals reported by other likely Democratic mayoral candidates:

Lander reported receiving $221,599 in the past three months. That brings his amount to $3.2 million, including more than $538,763 in matchable claims.
Stringer has received $197,428 since October and has raised more than $2.9 million, including $402,594 his campaign says are eligible for matching funds.
Brooklyn state Senator Zellnor Myrie took in $183,787 over the past three months, and has raised more than $647,000. His campaign said $305,214 in donations are eligible for the match.
Mamdani raised $641,816, some $400,000 of which his campaign anticipates will be matched.
Ramos raised $162,231 since declaring her candidacy last summer.
Walden, who said he may run as an independent in the general election, reported raising more than $1.13 million, of which $500,000 was loans he made to his own campaign.
Tilson said he’s raised $424,968 in the five weeks since he entered the race.
Former Assembly Member Michael Blake reported raising $146,084.