NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- Mayor Eric Adams raised more than $1.5 million from donors in the seventeen days after the city’s Democratic mayoral primary, nearly double the amount brought in by Zohran Mamdani, whose stunning win reinvigorated the incumbent’s struggling campaign.
Adams’ latest campaign disclosure, the first published since the June 24 primary, signals a resurgence in support for the incumbent mayor among the city’s donor class in the wake of Mamdani’s victory against former Governor Andrew Cuomo. Some of Cuomo’s donors have pivoted their support to Adams, whose campaign drew more than $1 million at a fundraiser last week.
The mayor’s fundraising faltered in the wake of a corruption scandal and federal indictment last year — along with Adams’ popularity. In March, he reported raising a little more than $18,000 over a two-month period — the lowest among the multiple candidates then running for mayor. After the charges against him were dismissed in April, Adams dropped out of the Democratic primary and opted to run in the general election on a third-party ballot line.
Mamdani’s campaign, which has been characterized by extensive social media outreach, a broad volunteer network and individual donor support, took in a little more than $800,000 from 10,300 donations in the period ended July 11. Cuomo, who still plans on appearing on the November ballot on an independent line, raised just over $2,000 since his 12-point loss to the 33-year-old democratic socialist.
His popularity, however, still hasn’t recovered. A Slingshot Strategies poll published last week found Adams coming in fourth place among the candidates appearing on the November ballot, with Mamdani and Cuomo leading. Just 11% of those polled said they would vote for Adams in the general election if it were held today.
Almost 60% of Mamdani’s donations were reported from outside of New York City, compared with just 39% of Cuomo’s and about half of Adams’. In a sign of his widespread popularity, Mamdani drew several contributions from outside the US, including from a student in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, an unemployed person in Faridabad, India, and a retiree in Thessaloniki, Greece.
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