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Tag: campaign finance board

  • New York City Mayor Eric Adams ends his reelection campaign

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    New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Sunday that he is ending his campaign for reelection.

    In a video released on social media, Adams spoke with pride about his achievements as mayor, including a drop in violent crime. But he said that “constant media speculation” about his future and a decision by the city’s campaign finance board to withhold public funding from his reelection effort, made it impossible to stay in the race.

    “Despite all we’ve achieved, I cannot continue my reelection campaign,” Adams said.

    The one-term Democrat’s decision to quit the race comes days after he repeatedly insisted he would stay in the contest, saying every day New Yorkers don’t “surrender.”

    But speculation that he wouldn’t make it to Election Day has been rampant for a year. Adams’ campaign was severely wounded by his now-dismissed federal bribery case and liberal anger over his warm relationship with President Donald Trump. He skipped the Democratic primary and got on the ballot as an independent.

    In the video, Adams did not directly mention or endorse any of the remaining candidates in the race. He also warned that “extremism is growing in our politics.”

    “Major change is welcome and necessary, but beware of those who claim the answer (is) to destroy the very system we built over generations,” he said. “That is not change, that is chaos. Instead, I urge leaders to choose leaders not by what they promise, but by what they have delivered.

    Adams’ capitulation could potentially provide a lift to the campaign of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a fellow centrist who has portrayed himself as the only candidate potentially able to beat the Democratic Party’s nominee, state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani.

    It was unclear, though, whether enough Adams’ supporters would shift their allegiances to Cuomo to make a difference.

    Mamdani, who, at age 33, would be the city’s youngest and most liberal mayor in generations if elected, beat Cuomo decisively in the Democratic primary by campaigning on a promise to lower the cost of living in one of the world’s most expensive cities.

    Republican Curtis Sliwa also remains in the race, though his candidacy has been undercut from within his own party; Trump in a recent interview, called him “not exactly prime time.”

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has endorsed Mamdani , said in a statement after the mayor’s announcement that she has been proud to have worked with Adams for the last four years, and that he leaves the city “better than he inherited it.”

    This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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  • Zohran Mamdani leads in fundraising for New York City mayoral contest

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    Zohran Mamdani pulled in almost double the funds of his nearest rivals for New York City mayor between early July and mid-August, as the candidates prepare for the crucial post Labor Day push to the November poll.

    New York’s City’s campaign finance board said on Saturday that the democratic socialist, who won the Democratic party nomination in June against former state governor Andrew Cuomo, raised $1,051,200, with an average donation of $121 recorded equally from donors in and outside the state.

    Cuomo raised $541,301, with an contribution size of $646. The incumbent mayor, Eric Adams, running as an independent, raised $425,181, with an average donation of $770. Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa brought in $407, 332.

    Related: ‘A new political era’: fresh Democratic faces seek office to prevent their party from ‘sleepwalking into dystopia’

    Mamdani’s fundraising dominance is mirrored in a polling advantage. Last week, a Siena poll placed him at 19 points ahead of Cuomo, his nearest rival, who is also running as an independent. A 12-poll average from Decision Desk HQ puts Mamdani ahead of Cuomo by 13 points.

    Mamdani, who has proposed rent freezes on almost a million rent-stabilized apartments in the city, free buses and childcare, city-run grocery stores, and elevated taxes on Columbia and New York University to subsidize city colleges and trade schools, has been consistently ahead in fundraising over rivals.

    In March, he asked his campaign’s grassroots supporters to stop donating, and directed his primary campaign staff to encourage supporters’ focus to volunteering efforts. His campaign funds on hand are put at $4.4m, and his campaign is eligible for $2.2m more in matching public funds.

    Last week, it was revealed that the anti-billionaire candidate had received a donation of $250,000 to a political action committee from Elizabeth Simons, the daughter of late hedge fund billionaire Jamie Simons.

    Adams is barred from receiving matching campaign funds, the city campaign finance board having found he had violated related laws. Cuomo has begun transferring money from a $7.5m state campaign account to his city campaign account and has $1.2m on hand. Cuomo is in line for a payout of about $400,000 from public funds.

    Pressure on the two trailing candidates, Adams and Sliwa, to step out of the race is likely to increase next month, but both have said they are unwilling to do so.

    Last week, Adams repeated his resistance to dropping out after a close adviser, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, was indicted for allegedly running a political-favors scheme that included receiving seafood and an acting role opposite Forest Whitaker.

    Politco reported last week that Cuomo told supporters at a fundraiser he expects Republican leaders, including Donald Trump, to urge Republican voters to switch from Sliwa to stop Mamdani, whom Trump has branded “a 100% Communist Lunatic”. Mamdani has said he is “Donald Trump’s worst nightmare”.

    Cuomo said on Friday that “a lot is going to happen” between now and the November vote. “I don’t think the public even knows who the assemblyman is, what he represents, what his positions are. So I think the more they find out about him, the less they’re going to like him, and … his appeal is going to drop dramatically.”

    Mamdani, meanwhile, has accused Cuomo of lying about his coordination with Trump and says the former governor, who bitterly clashed with Trump while in office, is now seeking the president’s help.

    “It’s par for the course for Andrew Cuomo,” Mamdani said on Tuesday.

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  • NYC Mayor’s Race: Mamdani posts strong general election fundraising haul, while Cuomo and Adams lag behind | amNewYork

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    Former Gov. and independent mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo (left) and Democratic mayoral nominee and Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani.

    Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

    Democratic mayoral nominee and frontrunner Zohran Mamdani continued his strong fundraising performance over the past month, having amassed more than $1 million in private, mostly small contributions since mid-July, according to newly updated filings with the city Campaign Finance Board (CFB) on Friday.

    At the same time, independent candidates former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams lagged behind. Cuomo raised roughly half of Mamdani’s haul — $507,660, while Adams amassed $420,886.

    Mamdani, a democratic socialist Queens Assembly member, raked in $1,051,200 between July 12 and Aug. 18, according to CFB records. The haul came from 8,461 donors – with an average contribution of $121. Just under half of those contributions — 48% — came from New York City donors, with the rest coming from outside the five boroughs.

    CFB records indicate that Mamdani’s campaign submitted $281,270 of the sum in claims for the city’s public funds program, which matches eligible contributions 8-to-1. The campaign says it expects that amount to unlock over $3 million in matching funds.

    With the new private and anticipated public funds, the campaign says it has already raised over $7 million in the general election.

    “I’m thankful for the support of New Yorkers and for the fact that we continue to show that we are the choice of people across the five boroughs,” Mamdani, who won the June Democratic primary by nearly 13 points, said during an unrelated Friday news conference.

    Mamdani’s spokesperson Dora Pekec, in a statement, said the campaign’s strong fundraising stems from his vast grassroots support, while taking a shot at Cuomo and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams’ donors with connections to Republican President Trump.

    “While Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams continue to rake in support from MAGA billionaires, our campaign is proud to be fueled by true grassroots support that speaks to the people-powered movement we’re building,” Pekec said. “With over 50,000 volunteers, thousands of small-dollar donors, and genuine enthusiasm for Zohran’s vision for a more affordable New York City, our momentum is surging.”

    Mamdani’s campaign spent $848,918 over the same period and has a war chest of nearly $4.4 million.

    The Assembly member was the first candidate to reach the $8.3 million spending limit in the Democratic primary. The spending cap has been reset for the general election.

    Cuomo and Adams reports

    The campaign for Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary, said it expects to add to its $507,660 raise by unlocking $525,384 in matching funds. The combined sum would bring his total fundraising for the cycle to over $1 million.

    Cuomo’s campaign shelled out $579,470 over the same period and has roughly $1.2 million in his campaign account, CFB records show. More than half of Cuomo’s donations came from outside New York City. 

    Cuomo appears to be lagging behind Mamdani in fundraising now that he is running as the underdog, instead of as the presumed frontrunner, as he was in the primary. The former governor was not only able to quickly raise large amounts during the Democratic contest, but was backed by tens of millions of dollars in super PAC spending. 

    Adams’ $420,886 haul, meanwhile, was far lower than the $1.5 million he raised over the previous filing period. That could spell more trouble for his campaign, given the CFB’s continued refusal to grant it matching funds. His haul has $59,420 in matching fund claims.

    The mayor spent big over the past month — to the tune of $850,668 — but still has nearly $4 million in its coffers, according to the board.

    amNewYork reached out to both campaigns for comment and is awaiting responses.

    Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa’s campaign brought in $407,332, of which the campaign claimed $208,021 could be matched, CFB records show. He spent $345,314 and has $2 million cash on hand.

    Meanwhile, independent attorney Jim Walden reported raising just over $8,222 over the same period, records indicate. About $4,329 of that amount is eligible for public matching funds, records show.

    Walden’s campaign has spent $318,566 since mid-July. He has a balance of over $1.2 million in his campaign account.

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    Ethan Stark-Miller

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