Andrew Cuomo, the disgraced former governor who is running for New York City mayor, was the only Democratic primary candidate who did not receive public matching funds on Tuesday to help pay for staff and campaign costs.
Cuomo’s campaign said last month it expected more than $2.5 million in public matching funds — small-dollar contributions made by New Yorkers that are then matched at an $8 to $1 rate by the city’s public financing program. Supporters of public funding argue that it gives candidates an alternative to seeking money solely from wealthy donors.
New York City’s Campaign Finance Board voted Tuesday morning to disburse the fifth round of matching funds payments to five mayoral candidates, except Cuomo: Brad Lander, Zohran Mamdani, Zellnor Myrie, Scott Stringer, and Jim Walden. The first four mayoral hopefuls are all Democrats, while the last is running as an independent. Walden previously considered a Republican bid.
Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, received the most funds at $3,832,987. Walden received the second highest amount at $1,903,504.
Cuomo’s campaign said the board decided to withhold its matching funds because of a “technical software error” in asking for contributions.
“Last Friday, the campaign was informed by the campaign finance board that, due to a technical software error, contributions collected on one of our vendor platforms, NGP, were missing one of the fields required by the Campaign Finance Board, and so while we met the thresholds necessary to receive matching funds, the campaign had to remedy this technical matter,” Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said in a statement.
The campaign clarifies it expects to receive its eligible matching funds next month.
“We have since fully addressed the software issue and have complied with all requirements and will be submitting the proper documentation to the Board within the one week grace period the board allows to remedy technical issues to receive our eligible matching funds on May 12,” Azzopardi added.
Days leading up to the vote, Cuomo’s campaign sent out a rushed email revealing it had not yet received “certain documentation” from donors “to ensure that eligible donations qualify for NYC matching funds.”
“We need you to complete the form included in this additional email, TODAY IF AT ALL POSSIBLE,” the email read. “We apologize for the inconvenience, but it is critical that we get these forms back as soon as possible.”
The paperwork mistake is the latest setback for Cuomo. On Sunday, his campaign released a 29-page housing plan that was filled with typos and featured a footnote suggesting ChatGPT may have been used for the document’s research.
The campaign team blamed the error on poor proofreading and insisted artificial intelligence was not used to generate the housing plan, but the damage was already done. Cuomo’s political rivals jumped on the opportunity.
“New Yorkers are facing a devastating housing crisis that is forcing lifelong residents to flee the city and Andrew Cuomo doesn’t have the decency to write his own housing platform,” said Mamdani, who has been polling in second place behind Cuomo. “This plan is half-baked, riddled with typos, incoherent, and most importantly fails to address the astronomical cost-of-living here in New York City.”
Despite the controversy, Cuomo remains the frontrunner in the Democratic primary set to be held on June 24. The former governor has been polling some 30 points ahead of the incumbent, Eric Adams, who recently dropped out of the Democratic primary to launch an independent reelection campaign. The decision came one day after his federal indictment on corruption charges was permanently dismissed.
Cuomo launched his mayoral campaign in March, nearly four years after he resigned as governor due to sexual assault allegations concerning multiple female employees. He was succeeded by his lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul, who served the remainder of his third term and won the New York’s gubernatorial election in 2022. Cuomo has denied the allegations.
While his campaign missed out on the latest round of public matching funds, a super PAC backing Cuomo received a $250,000 donation from pro-Trump billionaire Bill Ackman.