With Adams Out, Cuomo Reports Rush in Donations but Still Trails Mamdani

Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo raised nearly $1 million for his New York City mayoral campaign in recent weeks, including almost $400,000 in the 36 hours after Mayor Eric Adams abandoned his re-election bid, Mr. Cuomo’s campaign said on Friday.

Mr. Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary, is scrambling to catch up to Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, who has significant leads in both fund-raising and polling. Mr. Mamdani, a state assemblyman from Queens, said last month that he had raised enough money to hit the race’s $8 million fund-raising cap.

With Mr. Adams’s withdrawal, Mr. Cuomo has increased his efforts to make the campaign a two-man race and is trying to win over the mayor’s supporters and donors. Mr. Cuomo said he would speak with Mr. Adams soon and was seeking his endorsement.

“Momentum is on our side at exactly the right moment,” William J. Mulrow, Mr. Cuomo’s campaign chairman, said in a statement. “Voters are just now tuning into this race, and they want a safe city they can afford to live in, and they know Andrew Cuomo has the experience to deliver.”

Mr. Cuomo’s campaign said that it had raised $940,000 during the most recent fund-raising period, from mid-August to late September, and that it expected the figure to grow to $3.6 million with the inclusion of public matching funds.

More than three-quarters of Mr. Cuomo’s donations came from New York City residents, and the average contribution was $328, his campaign said.

The full fund-raising figures and a list of donors will be posted on the city’s Campaign Finance Board website late Friday.

Dora Pekec, a spokeswoman for Mr. Mamdani’s campaign, criticized Mr. Cuomo for his outreach to wealthy donors.

“While Andrew Cuomo has been desperately calling up Eric Adams’ billionaire donors, Zohran Mamdani — who maxed out fund-raising with a median donation of $25 — spent this week reaching out to Eric Adams’s voters,” she said.

Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee, also posted strong fund-raising totals. His campaign said on Friday that it had raised more than $421,000 in the most recent period before collecting public matching funds, and that it expected to reach the $8 million fund-raising limit by the end of the month.

“We are powered by people, not the political elite,” Mr. Sliwa said.

Mr. Sliwa has resisted calls to drop out of the race from those seeking to consolidate the support of voters who oppose Mr. Mamdani behind Mr. Cuomo.

“If anyone should drop out, it’s Cuomo,” Mr. Sliwa said in a video this week, noting that the former governor had already lost to Mr. Mamdani in June’s primary.

“I’m staying in this race because I have a real plan to make our city safe and affordable again,” Mr. Sliwa said.

Much of the money raised by the candidates will go toward television advertisements, which have started to hit the airwaves. Super PACs supporting the candidates are also expected to pour millions of dollars into the race.

Mr. Adams ended his re-election campaign on Sunday, saying it was clear that he did not have a path to victory. Mr. Cuomo, a moderate Democrat like Mr. Adams, is polling in second place and has sought to capitalize on Mr. Adams’s exit.

Mr. Cuomo was endorsed on Friday by the Asian Wave Alliance, a political club whose leaders criticized Mr. Mamdani’s statement this week that he wants to end a gifted and talented program for New York City kindergarten students.

At a news conference with members of the group, Mr. Cuomo tried out a new line of attack against Mr. Mamdani. Mr. Cuomo compared him to former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who also sought to overhaul the gifted program.

“My opponent is just a shorter de Blasio,” Mr. Cuomo said.