Mayor Adams' fundraising fizzles, further complicating reelection picture

Mayor Eric Adams’ re-election campaign raised just $18,967 in the latest fundraising period according to a campaign finance disclosure statement submitted late Monday, raising more questions about the future of his re-election bid.

While the Adams campaign was out to an early fundraising lead, raising a total of $4.4 million for his re-election campaign since 2022, his donations have nosedived since he was indicted on federal bribery and corruption charges last September for allegedly taking official actions to help the Turkish government in exchange for illegal foreign campaign contributions and luxury travel perks.

Only 43 donors gave to Adams' campaign between Jan. 12 and Mar. 13. The filing also included 16 refunds for previous donations. By contrast, the campaign spent nearly $160,000, more than eight times the amount it raised.

Those figures starkly contrast other Democratic mayoral candidates, including former Gov. Andrew Cuomo who raised $1.5 million in less than two weeks, and Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani of Queens, who received support from nearly 18,000 contributors (and more than 13,000 in this fundraising period alone) and raised $850,000 since January.

The Department of Justice under President Donald Trump has moved to drop the charges against Adams, but a federal judge still needs to sign off before the case is dismissed.

The mayor's political future has been in question as his legal drama plays out. He missed a debate hosted by the biggest public employee union in the city last month. Over the weekend, the head of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, once Adams' political home base, endorsed Cuomo.

The New York City Campaign Finance Board decided in December to withhold public matching funds from the mayor, citing the allegations detailed in the indictment.

On Monday, Adams insisted his compliance attorney, Vito Pitta, would continue to pursue matching funds.

“My compliance counsel is looking at all of our options to get the justice that we deserve,” Adams said.

Records show the campaign paid $20,000 each to Pitta LLP, his compliance attorney’s firm, and Suggs Solutions, the fundraising operation of Briana Suggs, whose home was raided by the FBI as part of the investigation into Adams' fundraising.

While Adams has insisted he is running for re-election, he did not dismiss a question about a possible bid as an independent candidate when asked on Monday.

“When I'm ready to roll out my official reannouncement and my plan, I will do so,” Adams said.

“And you, I'm going to make sure all of you are invited to it.”