Mayoral hopeful and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s independent mayoral campaign received a major financial boost on Thursday, as the NYC Campaign Finance Board (CFB) voted to award it roughly $2.3 million in public matching funds.
The sizable payout adds to the nearly $896,000 in private donations that Cuomo’s campaign reported raising last week, according to CFB records. The fresh cash infusion comes as Cuomo is desperately trying to close a gaping double-digit polling gap between himself and frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee.
The boost in both private donations and public funds shows that Cuomo is already reaping some reward from current Mayor Eric Adams’ decision to suspend his reelection campaign late last month. A large chunk of Cuomo’s haul poured into his coffers in the day and a half following Adams’ departure from the race, his campaign said.
The CFB also awarded, on Thursday, a little more than $1 million in public funds to Mamdani, who halted fundraising in early September after reaching the $8 million spending limit. The democratic socialist Assembly member reported raising $410,800 in private contributions last week.
Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, talk radio personality and founder of the volunteer patrol group The Guardian Angels, also received $1.1 million from the CFB Thursday. Sliwa’s campaign raked in $423,770 over the most recent filing period.
All three candidates have raised sufficient funds to already begin running TV ads and appear poised to continue ad buys until the Nov. 4 election.
Meanwhile, the CFB once again voted to deny Mayor Adams millions of dollars in matching funds. While Adams has ceased running for reelection, his campaign is still actively pursuing the public dollars it believes it is owed.
If he eventually receives matching funds, Adams could potentially use those funds, in addition to the roughly $3.3 million remaining in his campaign account, to wind down campaign operations and pay off his legal bills, according to a published report.
An Adams campaign spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.