Adrienne Adams bid for NYC mayor dealt major blow after campaign haul falls for matching funds: Disadvantage

Democrat Adrienne Adams raised $128,000 in the first week of her mayoral campaign but fell short of qualifying for public matching funds — in a major blow to her campaign.The City Council speaker’s late entry into the race ahead of a June 24 party primary — and failure to immediately tap into the 8-1 public matching funds — makes her road to victory more difficult, campaign strategists said Sunday.“It certainly puts her at a disadvantage,” said Chris Coffey, who ran Andrew Yang’s mayoral campaign in 2021 and is supportive of ex-Gov.Andrew Cuomo’s comeback bid for City Hall.Former Brooklyn Councilman Sal Albanese, who ran for mayor in 1997 and 2017, said, “You’re not a candidate unless you’re on TV.”He said he qualified for taxpayer dollars just before the 1997 Democratic primary run.“My poll numbers shot up 12 points because I was able to put up TV ads.

But it was too late.I got the funds a few weeks before the primary,” Albanese said.Candidates need to collect at least $250,000 in donations from 1,000 contributors to be eligible for matching funds, according to the city Campaign Finance Board — and Adams likely won’t get access to matching funds until May.Still, Albanese believes Adrienne Adams — no relation to rival Mayor Eric Adams — can be competitive because most voters don’t pay close attention until the final weeks before the primary.Adrienne Adams’ campaign team put out a positive memo Sunday claiming she has “big energy” despite the late start.She raised more than $128,000 in five days from 1,128 donors, including 875 donors who reside in New York City.The campaign said more than $78,000 in matchable donations qualify for $624,000 in matching funds, once the campaign qualifies.“This early surge reflects real, organic enthusiasm – something this race has largely lacked, aside from Zohran Mamdani’s base,” the campaign said.They categorized Cuomo’s support as “passive” while hers is “active.” The...