Racing to catch up to well-funded rivals, Cuomo raises big in first mayoral filing
NEW YORK — Andrew Cuomo strengthened his frontrunner status in the race to replace embattled Mayor Eric Adams, with $3 million raised on his behalf in two weeks.
He raised half that money from 2,704 donors, and a super PAC formed to support his bid brought in the other half, according to a new public filing and a statement from the political committee.
Donors included Melissa DeRosa, Linda Lacewell, Jeremy Creelan and Ben Lawsky, who worked in the upper ranks of his gubernatorial administration. They were joined by Rita Glavin and Elkan Abramowitz, attorneys who have received state funding to defend Cuomo in sexual harassment and Covid-related scandals that pushed him out of office. He denies wrongdoing in both.
NYU Langone executive Joe Lhota, a deputy mayor for Rudy Giuliani and Cuomo's appointee to chair the MTA, donated $400 — the most someone with business before the city can give.
Cuomo also got a fair amount of support from New York's real estate executives, who generally spread their wealth in competitive mayoral races, as well as bigwigs in the consulting and lobbying sector. Tusk Strategies CEO Chris Coffey, who is informally advising Cuomo, gave $250. Coffey's business partner Shontell Smith is working as political director for Cuomo's campaign. Public relations honcho Ken Sunshine donated $2,100, the maximum contribution allowed.
Movie director Darren Aronofsky, who benefited from New York's film tax break, and Michael Imperioli, who played Cuomo in the Showtime series 'Escape at Dannemora,' also contributed.
What matters now is whether the former governor can maintain this fundraising pace in order to catch up to rivals who have amassed larger warchests and already qualified for the city's public matching funds program. The 8-to-1 match on $250 contributions is all but essential to run a successful campaign, and Cuomo's team said he is on track to qualify by the next time a payment is made on April 15.
The pro-Cuomo super PAC took in $250,000 from RXR Realty's Scott Rechler, $125,000 from cable giant Charter Communications and $100,000 from SkyBridge Capital, the investment firm led by President Donald Trump's short-lived communications director Anthony Scaramucci, according to a spokesperson for the organization.
The political committee, dubbed 'Fix the City,' is not regulated by any contribution ceilings akin to the $2,100 limit on donations to a mayoral account. As a result, it can serve as an outlet for the ex-governor's wealthy donors, some of whom have Republican ties.
Those connections have already become a source of criticism for Cuomo's Democratic rivals vying for votes in an anti-Trump electorate. But the money will nonetheless help amplify Cuomo's message in the crowded field.
The ex-governor wasn't the only candidate with a strong fundraising period.
Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani brought in $846,949 from 13,327 donors over the two month filing period — more contributors than the rest of the field combined — which gives the democratic socialist an unrivaled claim to grassroots support.
Mamdani supporters have also formed a super PAC to support him, the Daily News reported, but it hasn't reported any donations yet.
City Comptroller Brad Lander took in $227,867 this period, which ran from Jan. 12 to March 13, and has more than $3.7 million in his account. His predecessor, Scott Stringer, reported just under $3 million on hand, while state Sen. Zellnor Myrie has a balance of just over $2.3 million. They've all qualified for matching funds.
Candidates who participate in the city's matching funds program are all capped at spending $7.9 million in the primary, which takes place June 24.
Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who just joined the race this month, fell short of qualifying for those public dollars, putting her at a severe monetary disadvantage as she looks to raise money from her national Black sorority network.
As of 6 p.m. Monday, the mayor had not filed with the city Campaign Finance Board, which has denied him over $4 million in matching funds due to his legal problems. His campaign attorney Vito Pitta did not respond to a request for comment.
Investor Whitney Tilson raised $322,803 and loaned his campaign another $25,000 over the last two months. State State Sen. Jessica Ramos continued to struggle with fundraising, bringing in just $70,061 in the period. Ramos hasn't qualified for matching funds and her campaign has a negative balance of $881. Former Assemblymember Michael Blake also fell well short of qualifying for matching funds.
Money alone doesn't guarantee success in a mayoral race. Wall Street executive Ray McGuire raised $12 million, more than any other candidate in the 2021 primary, and finished in seventh place. One-time presidential candidate Andrew Yang raised from the most mayoral donors that year and finished fourth.
'Having viable fundraising is your permission slip to enter the final dance,' said Trip Yang, a Democratic strategist who worked on Andrew Yang's 2021 campaign and now represents Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. 'At this stage in the game, a lot of these candidates don't have a ticket to the dance.'
Nick Reisman and Bill Mahoney contributed reporting.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
39 minutes ago
- CBS News
Andrew Cuomo on his approach to President Trump, e-bikes and more in the NYC mayor's race
Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor now running for mayor of New York City, has a long resume of public service and accomplishments, which he hopes will outweigh the scandals that ended his governorship in Tuesday's Democratic primary. In the final days of early voting, most polls say Cuomo is the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination and that Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani is his greatest threat in the party's crowded field of candidates. "Traumatic" COVID briefings Cuomo reentered the political fray after resigning as the Empire State governor in 2021 amid scandals involving sexual harassment and COVID deaths in nursing homes, which he is also accused of lying to Congress about. He has denied the allegations and defended his administration's handling of the pandemic. Appearing Sunday on CBS News New York's "The Point with Marcia Kramer, Cuomo said his daily coronavirus briefings, which often went viral, marked a "traumatic" time for him as governor. "I don't know that I've even fully recovered from that period of time. It was so frightening, it was so traumatic," he said. Andrew Cuomo, the former governor and a candidate for NYC mayor, appears on "The Point with Marcia Kramer" before the 2025 Democratic primary. CBS News New York "I'd sit in these briefings and they would say millions are going to die," he added. Cuomo's actions as governor have been a focal point of his Democratic opponents' campaigns too. The candidates jumped at opportunities to challenge his record in the first and second debates. Relationship with President Trump Cuomo believes his past relationship with President Trump would benefit New Yorkers, but says the president must first be willing to help them. "I've dealt with President Trump. I think he has a respect for me and for New York. I think that's important. I don't think he wants to pick a fight that he can't handle, and he knows when he fights with New York, it gets very difficult very quickly," he said. "First order of business is do no harm, and I'm afraid of what he's going to do with the budget. I'm afraid of what he's going to do with immigrants because that is working for him politically," he added. "And by the way, it's the only thing that's working for him politically." As governor during Mr. Trump's first term, Cuomo said he and the president had disagreements, but also found common ground. "We had a number of fights during COVID, etc. On the flip side, there were situations where I went to him and I asked for help," he said. "I asked for help to rebuild the train tunnels going across the Hudson River, etc. I think there are infrastructure projects that he could help with, if he was interested." E-bike regulations and safety E-bike safety has become one of the key issues in the mayoral campaign, amid some calls for new speed limits and to require licenses. Cuomo's campaign has leaned into his experience as governor from 2011-2021 and President Clinton's second housing and urban development secretary. One thing he did not do as governor, but would like to as mayor, is regulate e-bikes in the city, he said. "If I had to do it all over again, Monday morning quarterback, we passed it on the state level, we left it up to the localities to regulate," he said. "New York City has not effectively regulated the e-bikes. Surprise, surprise." Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is running for reelection as an independent, has proposed a 15 mph speed limit on e-bikes and e-scooters. "The deliveristas, first of all, are the people who are trying to make a living. They have to be protected and their rights have to be protected. But these apps are making billions of dollars, and I want to make the apps responsible for licensing the bikes so there can be law enforcement," Cuomo added. "Let the app be responsible for the tickets and then if there's a bike, an operator, that has a high number of tickets and violations, that is on the app." Democratic mayoral candidates Andrew Cuomo (L) shakes hands with Zohran Mamdani (C) as Whitney Tilson reacts after participating in a Democratic mayoral primary debate in New York on June 4, 2025. YUKI IWAMURA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images Mamdani has also proposed regulating delivery apps and holding them accountable for treating workers fairly, as well as measures to improve safety for bike riders. Cuomo said whatever new rules come to be, they won't matter unless they're enforced. "The poor people on Citi Bikes, those Citi Bikes can only go about 18 mph. They have e-bikes that are doing 30-35 mph going past them. So we need rules enforced. You can't be on the sidewalk and on the street and going against traffic," he said. New York's primary election is Tuesday, June 24. Click here to find your polling place. Click here to watch the full interview with Cuomo.
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Anti-war demonstrators rally against Iran strikes in Boston
'[Trump's] unilateral action threatens to embroil the United States in another costly war in the Middle East, just like George W. Bush did with his attack on Iraq,' Garvey said in a statement. 'His unconstitutional action endangers people across the region and American service members dangerously deployed there. Congress must stop these illegal actions immediately.' Advertisement The rally is being backed by a coalition of more than two dozen advocacy groups, including anti-war, left-wing, pro-Iran and pro-Palestinian organizations. This is a developing story. Dan Glaun can be reached at
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Texas enacts robotaxi rules on the eve of Tesla's Austin rollout
AUSTIN - Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, has signed legislation requiring a permit to operate self-driving vehicles just before Tesla's planned launch of a robotaxi trial on Sunday, June 22 in Austin, according to the governor's website. The law does not take effect until Sept. 1, but the governor's approval of it on Friday sends a strong signal that state officials from both parties want the driverless-vehicle industry to proceed cautiously. A group of Democratic state lawmakers earlier this week asked Tesla to delay its planned robotaxi trial because of the legislation. Neither Tesla nor the governor's office immediately responded to requests for comment. The law marks a reversal from the state's previous anti-regulation stance on autonomous vehicles. A 2017 Texas law specifically prohibited cities from regulating self-driving cars. In recent days, Tesla has sent invites to a select group of Tesla online influencers for a small and carefully monitored robotaxi trial, which the company has said would include 10 or 20 Model Y vehicles operated in a limited zone of Austin. The governor's signature on the law puts the automaker in the position of choosing whether to proceed with a rollout it might have to terminate before Sept. 1. The law requires autonomous-vehicle operators to get approval from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles before operating on public streets without a human driver. It also gives state authorities the power to revoke permits if they deem a driverless vehicle "endangers the public" and requires firms to provide information on how police and first responders can deal with their driverless vehicles in emergency situations. Musk pledges safe robotaxi rollout The planned Tesla robotaxi launch, which the company warned might be delayed, comes after more than a decade of CEO Elon Musk's unfulfilled promises to deliver self-driving Teslas. Most of Tesla's sky-high stock value now rests on its ability to deliver robotaxis and humanoid robots, according to many industry analysts. Tesla is by far the world's most valuable automaker. Musk has said Tesla would be "super paranoid" about safety for the Austin rollout. The company planned to operate only in areas it considered the safest and to have "safety monitors" riding in the front passenger seat. It is not clear how much control the monitors would have over the vehicles in an emergency situation. The service in Austin will have other restrictions as well. Tesla plans to avoid bad weather, difficult intersections, and will not carry anyone below the age of 18. Musk has said he is ready to delay the start for safety reasons, if needed. The planned launch has generated buzz among Tesla fans. "Wow. We are going to ride in driverless Teslas in just a few days. On public roads," posted Omar Qazi, an user with 635,200 followers who writes often about Tesla using the handle @WholeMarsBlog and received an invite. Commercializing autonomous vehicles has been risky and expensive. GM's Cruise was shut down after a fatal accident and regulators are closely watching Tesla and its rivals, Alphabet's Waymo, which runs a paid robotaxi service in several U.S. cities, and Amazon's Zoox. Tesla is also bucking the young industry's standard practice of relying on multiple technologies to read the road, using only cameras. That, says Musk, will be safe and much less expensive than lidar and radar systems added by rivals.
