Scandal-ridden New York City Mayor Adams only raised $250 after suing_1

Since Eric Adams took office as the Mayor of New York City in 2022, he has been actively fundraising for his re-election campaign in 2025. However, in the past three months, following the scandal surrounding his federal indictment on September 26, his fundraising efforts have drastically declined. Adams has only managed to raise $146,000, making it his lowest quarterly fundraising total since taking office, significantly trailing behind his opponents. Remarkably, after the indictment, he received merely a single $250 donation from a property insurance broker in Queens.

According to the latest fundraising data released by the Campaign Finance Board on October 15, Adams’s fundraising from July 12 to October 7 fell starkly short when compared to the over $1 million he raised in the previous quarter. His counterparts are faring much better; City Comptroller Brad Lander reported raising $330,115, well above Adams’s totals, while former City Comptroller Scott Stringer also outperformed Adams with $193,000 raised recently.

Yet, Adams’s campaign lawyer, Vito Pitta, argues that the fundraising landscape isn’t as bleak as it may appear. He points out that out of the $4.1 million Adams has raised, around $500,000 qualifies for the eight-to-one public matching fund, potentially boosting his campaign by an additional $4 million. This would bring his total campaign funds to over $8 million, surpassing the spending limits for the mayoral primaries. “Mayor Adams continues to receive strong support from New Yorkers. Our campaign has already met the primary fundraising cap, and we expect to exceed our matching fund targets,” Pitta stated.

During a press conference on October 15, Adams hinted that he doesn’t need to raise more funds, saying, “We only need to gather a small amount of funds,” indicating he is banking on the matching funds. However, this strategy could face challenges. The Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office has accused him in the criminal indictment of soliciting and accepting illegal donations from Turkish government officials for his 2021 and 2025 campaigns in exchange for political favors. The Campaign Finance Board has indicated it will review these allegations before disbursing the first tranche of public matching funds to mayoral candidates in mid-December.