Speaker Adrienne Adams does not expect to meet the threshold for matching funds by the Monday fundraising deadline in the crowded mayoral 2025 race, she said Wednesday.
“We have been aggressive fundraising for less than a week, so put that together as far as what we’re doing on how we’re working,” Adams said at a press conference on Wednesday. “But we do expect to receive matching funds in time.”
This mean that she won’t get matching funds until the next deadline in April — a possible challenge as she competes with other candidates who have been fundraising for months and have qualified for the matching funds.
Adams announced her run for mayor last week and kicked off fundraising with a Saturday rally in Queens. The speaker has often been a foil to Mayor Adams, who is not related to her, and poses a threat to both him and ex-Gov. Cuomo, who has also stepped into the race.
The speaker is popular with moderate Black voters, especially in her home district in Jamaica and South Ozone Park — a core block of voters.
“I think my momentum is very, very good,” the speaker said. “The enthusiasm around this campaign is indescribable. The electricity around this campaign is fantastic. I think folks were waiting for a breath of fresh air.”
Ex-Gov. Cuomo is also operating on a tight timeline, but his big name recognition and backing from high-powered donors are expected to give him an early boost.
To compare, Comptroller Brad Lander has raised more than $5.3 million and Mayor Adams is sitting on $4.5 million from private donations alone, before this upcoming deadline.
The speaker had about $210,000 in her Council campaign account at the end of the most recent filing period. That money can transfer to her mayoral campaign coffers, but can’t be used to meet the matching threshold.
The threshold for receiving matching funds is $250,000 from 1,000 donors for mayoral candidates.
Lupe Todd-Medina, a spokesperson for her campaign, said Adams’ campaign has done “tremendous” work since announcing her run last week.
“It we don’t get there, I don’t think it defines our success,” she said, pointing out that the speaker.
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