Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (I) established a new 2025 benchmark for the most dollars received from private contributions in one day on Sept. 29, receiving over $244,000 from individual contributors, a day after New York Mayor Eric Adams announced his departure from the 2025 mayoral race.
But Cuomo still trails Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani in total fundraising, thanks to Mamdani’s massive lead in public funds received, with just a few weeks to go until Election Day.
Mamdani, a state assemblyman and self-described democratic socialist, defeated Cuomo and Adams in the Democratic primary. The ex-governor and outgoing mayor continued to run as independents but trail Mamdani in fundraising and the polls.
After reaching fundraising and spending caps, Mamdani has stopped soliciting donations. His campaign has raised $16.8 million and spent $10.7 million, and the New York City Campaign Finance Board estimates Mamdani has around $6.1 million left to spend, the most of any candidate.
Cuomo’s campaign has raised about $12.6 million and spent $8.9 million, leaving it with about $3.7 million. That fundraising total includes about $69,000 that was transferred in from one of Cuomo’s previous campaigns. In the last public funds payout on Oct. 9, Cuomo received $2.3 million, more than twice the payout for either Mamdani or Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
Sliwa didn’t receive any public payments during the primary since his race wasn’t competitive. He’s received $4.5 million in public funds for the general election and is estimated to have around $3.4 million to spend, not far behind Cuomo.
The Campaign Finance Board denied Adams public funds 12 times because his campaign failed to submit requested documents and may have violated election law, contributing to his departure from the race.
“Despite all we’ve achieved, I cannot continue my reelection campaign. The constant media speculation about my future and the Campaign Finance Board’s decision to withhold millions of dollars have undermined my ability to raise the funds needed for a serious campaign,” Adams said in his departure announcement.
His campaign still has about $3.3 million remaining. Adams’ campaign received the most private contributions of all candidates, but he also had a head start. By the time Mamdani, the first general election candidate other than Adams to raise funds, received his first contribution in October 2024, Adams’ campaign had already raised more than 60 percent of its $6.7 million in private contributions.
Adams may use some of the remaining funds to wrap up his campaign and pay any outstanding bills. Beyond that, his options are limited for the remaining money. He could save it for a future city race or transfer it into a state campaign fund that he could use to pay his legal expenses. He is strictly prohibited from contributing it to another campaign or organization.
With Adams out of the race, Cuomo’s campaign insists that the contest has shifted in his favor, and that the race is now a match-up between him and Mamdani, and the former governor did see a significant increase in financial support.
“With one month to go, a surge in fundraising, endorsements, and volunteers, momentum is building, with more to come,” Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said in a statement after a new poll from Quinnipiac University showing gains for Cuomo.
Cuomo has seemed to absorb support from Adams’ supporters, with 33 percent of likely voters indicating they would vote for Cuomo. That’s a 10-point increase from the previous month. Mamdani held his significant lead with 46 percent of voters indicating they would vote for him, 1 point more than in September.
Mamdani’s campaign responded to the poll by emphasizing the numbers showing deeper enthusiasm for the candidate than Cuomo. Out of Mamdani’s supporters, 90 percent indicated they felt enthusiastic about voting for him, compared with only 69 percent of Cuomo’s.
“As the billionaires continue to throw out their last-ditched efforts to prop up Andrew Cuomo, we have genuine enthusiasm and 80,000 volunteers on our side. Last time, it wasn’t the billionaires who won that matchup,” Mamdani spokesperson Dora Pekec said.
Small donors are driving Mamdani’s fundraising advantage
Mamdani has received significantly more public funding than his opponents because the majority of contributions to his campaign qualify for matching funds.
- About 90 percent of Mamdani’s donors have contributed less than $250, the maximum amount the Campaign Finance Board will match with public funds. Each contribution to candidates who opt in to, and comply with, the CFB’s rules for public matching funds is eligible for 8-to-1 matching, up to the $250 threshold.
- Mamdani has the lowest average contribution amount of $98. Sliwa, Cuomo and Adams have average contribution amounts of $125, $615 and $972, respectively.
- Mamdani’s approach to fundraising with so many small donors has resulted in his significant fundraising advantage.
Independent expenditures
While Cuomo is trailing Mamdani in campaign committee fundraising, super PACs that have spent money on ads supporting Cuomo or opposing Mamdani have received more than 11 times as much money as super PACs that have supported Mamdani or opposed Cuomo.
- The three largest super PACs active in the mayoral race all either support Cuomo or run ads against Mamdani. The largest, Fix the City, has received about $28.3 million and is responsible for the most expensive ads of the 2025 election cycle. The super PAC spent $5.3 million on a Mamdani attack ad and $3.1 million on an ad supporting Cuomo.
- The top three contributors to super PACs involved in the mayoral race are Airbnb, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and DoorDash, which have donated $10 million, $8.3 million and $1.8 million, respectively. Five members of the Lauder family have donated a combined total of nearly $2.6 million. All of the super PACs these top donors donated to have supported Cuomo or opposed Mamdani.
- About 59 percent of all independent spending in the mayoral race ($19 million) has supported Cuomo and 28 percent ($9.1 million) has opposed Mamdani.
- Contributions to super PACs have flattened since the primary and didn’t spike in the week after Adams dropped out.
- The largest super PAC supporting Mamdani is New Yorkers for Lower Costs, which has received $2.5 million in donations. That’s under a tenth of the donations Fix the City has received.
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