In this week's newsletter: As the New York mayoral race is heading into its final weeks, Democrat Zohran Mamdani continues to lead in fundraising while independent Andrew Cuomo has outpaced Mamdani in super PAC support. And one of two organizations established by President Donald Trump to support his planned presidential library has gone dormant without explanation, leaving the public in the dark. |
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Despite a surge in support for Cuomo, Mamdani still leads NYC mayoral race in money and polling |
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (I) established a new 2025 benchmark for the most dollars received from private contributions in one day on Sept. 29, receiving over $244,000 from individual contributors, a day after New York Mayor Eric Adams announced his departure from the 2025 mayoral race.
But Cuomo still trails Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani in total fundraising, thanks to Mamdani’s massive lead in public funds received, with just a few weeks to go until Election Day. Mamdani, a state assemblyman and self-described democratic socialist, defeated Cuomo and Adams in the Democratic primary. The ex-governor and outgoing mayor continued to run as independents but trail Mamdani in fundraising and the polls.
After reaching fundraising and spending caps, Mamdani has stopped soliciting donations. His campaign has raised $16.8 million and spent $10.7 million, and the New York City Campaign Finance Board estimates Mamdani has around $6.1 million left to spend, the most of any candidate.
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Cuomo’s campaign has raised about $12.6 million and spent $8.9 million, leaving it with about $3.7 million. That fundraising total includes about $69,000 that was transferred in from one of Cuomo’s previous campaigns. In the last public funds payout on Oct. 9, Cuomo received $2.3 million, more than twice the payout for either Mamdani or Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
- Sliwa didn’t receive any public payments during the primary since his race wasn’t competitive. He’s received $4.5 million in public funds for the general election and is estimated to have around $3.4 million to spend, not far behind Cuomo.
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Adams' campaign still has about $3.3 million remaining. He may use some of the remaining funds to wrap up his campaign and pay any outstanding bills. Beyond that, his options are limited for the remaining money. He could save it for a future city race or transfer it into a state campaign fund that he could use to pay his legal expenses. He is strictly prohibited from contributing it to another campaign or organization.
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About 90 percent of Mamdani’s donors have contributed less than $250, the maximum amount the Campaign Finance Board will match with public funds. Each contribution to candidates who opt in to, and comply with, the CFB’s rules for public matching funds is eligible for 8-to-1 matching, up to the $250 threshold.
- Mamdani has the lowest average contribution amount of $98. Sliwa, Cuomo and Adams have average contribution amounts of $125, $615 and $972, respectively.
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While Cuomo is trailing Mamdani in campaign committee fundraising, super PACs that have spent money on ads supporting Cuomo or opposing Mamdani have received more than 11 times as much money as super PACs that have supported Mamdani or opposed Cuomo.
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The three largest super PACs active in the mayoral race all either support Cuomo or run ads against Mamdani. The largest, Fix the City, has received about $28.3 million and is responsible for the most expensive ads of the 2025 election cycle. The super PAC spent $5.3 million on a Mamdani attack ad and $3.1 million on an ad supporting Cuomo.
- The top three contributors to super PACs involved in the mayoral race are Airbnb, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and DoorDash, which have donated $10 million, $8.3 million and $1.8 million, respectively. All of the super PACs these top donors donated to have supported Cuomo or opposed Mamdani.
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About 59 percent of all independent spending in the mayoral race ($19 million) has supported Cuomo and 28 percent ($9.1 million) has opposed Mamdani.
- The largest super PAC supporting Mamdani is New Yorkers for Lower Costs, which has received $2.5 million in donations. That’s under a tenth of the donations Fix the City has received.
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One of Trump’s library funds has mysteriously dissolved, but a lack of transparency keeps the public in the dark |
Florida officials have administratively dissolved a nonprofit fund connected to President Donald Trump’s planned presidential library because it failed to submit a mandatory annual report, according to government records reviewed by OpenSecrets.
The Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Fund Inc. was created on Dec. 20, 2024 — “to preserve and steward the legacy of President Donald J. Trump and his presidency” — six days after ABC News agreed to make a $15 million “charitable contribution” to Trump’s presidential library effort.
The Trump library fund is now “inactive,” per records held by the Florida Department of State’s Division of Corporations, having last filed any paperwork in February. The date of the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Fund Inc.’s “dissolution” is listed as Sept. 26.
Reached by phone, Jacob Roth, a Florida-based attorney at the Dhillon Law Group who signed the fund’s registration paperwork and is listed as the organization’s registered agent, declined to comment.
“My job is simply to be the registrant,” said Roth, who also legally formed Trump’s presidential inauguration committee and whose law firm has earned millions of dollars providing legal counsel to Trump’s campaign and supportive political committees.
Among questions that remain unanswered: What is the current role of the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Fund Inc., and how much money does it have on hand? Roth agreed to forward an email with questions from OpenSecrets to unspecified Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Fund Inc. officials. Those fund representatives, as well as the White House press office, did not respond to requests for comment and none of the prior filings address the fund’s finances. The Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Fund Inc.’s missing annual report would ostensibly offer new details about the organization’s structure and operation at a time when Trump is actively engaged in planning for a presidential library while still serving as president.
The donation from ABC settled a lawsuit stemming from host George Stephanopoulos allegedly defaming Trump by erroneously asserting on-air that Trump has been found civilly liable in court for raping writer E. Jean Carroll. Rather, Trump was found civilly liable for sexual abuse — considered different under New York state law — and defamation.
In May, Trump created a separate nonprofit, the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation Inc., for the similar purpose of “charitable, educational, and historical purposes, specifically to steward, preserve, and celebrate the legacy and historical record of President Donald J. Trump and his presidency.” Specifically noted: “establishing and maintaining archives, libraries, and museums” and conducting and supporting educational programs, scholarships, exhibits, and research initiatives.” The Trump administration and the library organizations have so far not explained why there are two similar operations.
The Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation Inc. has been designated as the recipient of property to be used as the site of Trump’s library. This week, a judge disallowed — for now — a motion to block Miami Dade College from providing the land. Critics have panned the land acquisition process, which could potentially involve a hotel, as opaque and rushed, the Miami Herald reported.
It’s unknown how much money either the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation Inc. or Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Fund Inc. have raised to date, as they’re not compelled by law to disclose those figures. |
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See our media citations from outlets around the nation this week: |
Florida Playbook (Politico)
"Florida officials have administratively dissolved a nonprofit fund connected to President Donald Trump’s planned presidential library because it failed to submit a mandatory annual report, according to government records reviewed by OpenSecrets,” reports Dave Levinthal. |
Is American Foreign Policy Really for Sale? (The New York Times)
In 2016, Donald Trump promised to impose “a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections.” He didn’t. And, as headlines about the president’s accepting a $200 million airplane from Qatar and his daughter Tiffany’s outing on a Libyan oil mogul’s yacht suggest, the swamp that President Trump pledged to drain has become miasmatic. The watchdog group OpenSecrets estimates that foreign clients have spent more than $5 billion since 2016 to gain the favor of the U.S. government and American institutions.
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