Cuomo claims he's hit $8 million cap for NYC mayoral primary, but matching funds could be at risk
NEW YORK — Andrew Cuomo's mayoral campaign said Friday the ex-governor has raked in enough donations to surpass the $8 million fundraising cap — but that math hinges on an anticipated disbursement of public matching funds that could be in jeopardy due to legal concerns related to a pro-Cuomo super PAC.
According to a statement from Cuomo's campaign, he received $2.4 million in donations during the latest reporting period, spanning between March 14 and May 19. His detailed filing for the period, due Friday, wasn't immediately available, but that haul would mean Cuomo has raised a total of $3.9 million in private cash since his Feb. 28 mayoral campaign launch.
Bill Mulrow, Cuomo's campaign chairman, said the private haul is enough for Cuomo to qualify for a $2.8 million public matching funds payout at next week's disbursement, adding to the $1.5 million he netted on May 12. Such an influx of public cash would push Cuomo's total war chest to $8.2 million, more than enough to get to the max $7.9 million mayoral candidates can spend on a primary campaign.
'We are truly overwhelmed by the outpouring of support,' Mulrow said.
There is a potential obstacle to Cuomo's cash rally, though.
On May 12, the city Campaign Finance Board withheld more than $620,000 in matching funds from Cuomo because Fix the City, a pro-Cuomo super PAC, had spent that amount of money on airing a television ad the CFB's members said they had 'reason to believe' was the product of illegal coordination between the PAC and Cuomo's campaign. By law, super PACs can raise and spend as much money as they want to boost a political campaign as long as they don't engage in any coordination with the candidate.
Shortly after that finding, Fix the City spent another $675,000 on the same ad, raising the possibility the board could withhold more matching cash from Cuomo in the future.
At the May 12 board meeting, CFB member Richard Davis said the ad amounted to an improper in-kind contribution to Cuomo and that it thereby would deduct whatever 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.
Cuomo's campaign maintains the ad wasn't the product of illegal super PAC coordination and has said it will challenge the CFB's ruling.
A CFB spokesman declined to comment Friday.
The matching funds program is a big boon to mayoral candidates, as it matches any donations they get from city residents with taxpayer cash up to $250 at an 8:1 ratio.
Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 as he faced impeachment over sexual misconduct accusations he denies, continues to poll as the clear favorite to win the June 24 Democratic mayoral primary, and a sizable campaign war chest will help him continue to air ads and otherwise get his message out. Fix the City, which is operated by a group of longtime Cuomo allies, has already raised another $9 million and spent nearly $5 million of it on Cuomo-boosting ads.
Several other mayoral candidates say they have also reached the fundraising cap.
Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist who has consistently polled as the runner-up to Cuomo, suspended fundraising in late March after becoming the first mayoral candidate to reach the spending cap.
Earlier this week, City Comptroller Brad Lander announced he had also reached the spending cap with anticipated public matching funds factored in.
Full fundraising filings for the latest stretch were due from all mayoral primary candidates Friday, though none had been released as of early afternoon.
A key question heading into Friday's filing was whether City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams' mayoral campaign will have raised enough money from enough individual donors to qualify for matching funds. Earlier this week, the speaker's team said she had, but the Daily News also reported this month that her matching funds claims have been marred by a high rate of errors that could pose an issue for eligibility.
If mayoral primary candidates don't qualify for matching funds in this stretch, they won't get another shot at getting them until June 20, just four days before the primary election.
A fundraising filing was also due Friday from Mayor Eric Adams, who isn't running in the primary, as he dropped out of it last month amid fallout from the controversial dismissal of his corruption indictment. Adams is instead seeking reelection in November's general election as an independent candidate.
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