Brooklyn state Sen. Zellnor Myrie’s mayoral campaign has raised enough money from enough donors to unlock more than $2.3 million in public matching funds this week, according to a memo from his team.
Myrie, who’s among more than a half dozen candidates running against Mayor Adams in June’s Democratic primary, has pulled in a total of $647,449 from more than 3,300 individual donors since launching his campaign in May 2024, the memo says.
The memo, provided to reporters by Myrie’s campaign ahead of Wednesday’s public fundraising disclosure deadline, says that $301,981 of his total haul came from more than 1,500 New York City residents, surpassing the thresholds required to become eligible for matching funds.
As a result, Myrie’s memo says he’s expecting to receive some $2.35 million in matching funds from the Campaign Finance Board on Wednesday.
“New Yorkers from across all five boroughs are coming together to support Zellnor because they are ready for fresh, new leadership in City Hall,” said Myrie spokeswoman Monica Klein. “With more than 3,300 donors behind him, Zellnor is building the momentum needed to power his campaign and rebuild our city.”
Myrie’s matching funds movement gives him a boost as the June 24 Democratic mayoral primary looms just six months away.
Still, Myrie, who has made combatting the city’s housing crisis a key focus of his mayoral campaign, saw his fundraising slow in recent months.
In the most recent period, spanning between Oct. 8 and this past Saturday, Myrie drew $183,489 in donations, his campaign said. That’s significantly less than the $326,415 he raised between his mid-May campaign launch and the July 11 periodic filing deadline.
By comparison, independent mayoral candidate Jim Walden received $629,736 in private donations in the most recent reporting window alone, as first reported by the Daily News on Monday.
A Myrie adviser sought to downplay his drop in donations, saying his campaign focused in the most recent stretch on surpassing the matching fund thresholds.
Prior to this week, only former City Comptroller Scott Stringer’s mayoral campaign had become eligible for matching funds, drawing down some $2 million in the crucial public money on Dec. 16. Several other mayoral candidates, including Comptroller Brad Lander, say they have since also met the thresholds required to receive matching funds this week.
Though Adams had met the donation thresholds, the Campaign Finance Board denied him matching funds last month over concerns about his federal corruption indictment, which alleges he took illegal straw donations and bribes, mostly from Turkish government operatives, in exchange for political favors.
Adams, who has pleaded not guilty, could appeal the board’s denial, but hadn’t done so in time for this week’s payout. Adams, who sat on $3.1 million in private funds as of the end of the last reporting period, has said he will run for reelection even if he doesn’t get any matching funds.
