Andrew Cuomo’s mayoral marketing campaign mentioned Friday the ex-governor has raked in sufficient donations to surpass the $8 million fundraising cap — however that math hinges on an anticipated disbursement of public matching funds that could possibly be in jeopardy as a result of authorized issues associated to a pro-Cuomo tremendous PAC.
In response to a press release from Cuomo’s marketing campaign, he obtained $2.4 million in donations in the course of the newest reporting interval, spanning between March 14 and Could 19. His detailed submitting for the interval, due Friday, wasn’t instantly out there, however that haul would imply Cuomo has raised a complete of $3.9 million in non-public money since his Feb. 28 mayoral marketing campaign launch.
Invoice Mulrow, Cuomo’s marketing campaign chairman, mentioned the non-public haul is sufficient for Cuomo to qualify for a $2.8 million public matching funds payout at subsequent week’s disbursement, including to the $1.5 million he netted on Could 12. Such an inflow of public money would push Cuomo’s complete struggle chest to $8.2 million, greater than sufficient to get to the max $7.9 million mayoral candidates can spend on a major marketing campaign.
“We are truly overwhelmed by the outpouring of support,” Mulrow mentioned.
There’s a potential impediment to Cuomo’s money rally, although.
On Could 12, town Marketing campaign Finance Board withheld greater than $620,000 in matching funds from Cuomo as a result of Repair the Metropolis, a pro-Cuomo tremendous PAC, had spent that amount of cash on airing a tv advert the CFB’s members mentioned that they had “reason to believe” was the product of unlawful coordination between the PAC and Cuomo’s marketing campaign. By regulation, tremendous PACs can elevate and spend as a lot cash as they wish to enhance a political marketing campaign so long as they don’t interact in any coordination with the candidate.
Shortly after the CFB’s discovering, Repair the Metropolis reported having spent one other $675,000 on the identical advert, elevating the chance the board might withhold extra matching money from Cuomo sooner or later.
On the Could 12 board assembly, CFB member Richard Davis mentioned the advert amounted to an improper in-kind contribution to Cuomo and that it thereby would deduct no matter was spent on it from the matching funds the ex-gov qualifies for. “The board’s investigation into this matter is ongoing, and we will continue to evaluate the issue of improper coordination,” Davis added.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Photographs)
Cuomo’s marketing campaign maintains the advert wasn’t the product of unlawful tremendous PAC coordination and has mentioned it can problem the CFB’s ruling.
A CFB spokesman declined to remark Friday.
The matching funds program is an enormous boon to mayoral candidates, because it matches any donations they get from metropolis residents with taxpayer money as much as $250 at an 8:1 ratio.
Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 as he confronted impeachment over sexual misconduct accusations he denies, continues to ballot because the clear favourite to win the June 24 Democratic mayoral major, and a large marketing campaign struggle chest will assist him proceed to air advertisements and in any other case get his message out. Repair the Metropolis, which is operated by a gaggle of longtime Cuomo allies, has already raised one other $9 million and spent practically $5 million of it on Cuomo-boosting advertisements.
A number of different mayoral candidates say they’ve additionally reached the fundraising cap.
Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist who has constantly polled because the runner-up to Cuomo, suspended fundraising in late March after changing into the primary mayoral candidate to succeed in the spending cap.
Earlier this week, Metropolis Comptroller Brad Lander introduced he had additionally reached the spending cap with anticipated public matching funds factored in.
Full fundraising filings for the newest stretch had been due from all mayoral major candidates Friday, although none had been launched as of early afternoon.
If mayoral major candidates don’t qualify for matching funds on this stretch, they received’t get one other shot at getting them till June 20, simply 4 days earlier than the first election.
A fundraising submitting was additionally due Friday from Mayor Adams, who isn’t working within the major, as he dropped out of it final month amid fallout from the controversial dismissal of his corruption indictment. Adams is as an alternative in search of reelection in November’s normal election as an unbiased candidate.
Initially Printed: Could 23, 2025 at 2:29 PM EDT
