(Bloomberg) — Two challengers hoping to deny New York City Mayor Eric Adams a second term say they’ve raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations for their respective campaigns, sums that will stretch into the millions once public matching funds are added.
Former New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer and Zellnor Myrie, a state senator from Brooklyn, are among a half-dozen candidates who are considering challenging Adams in the June 2025 Democratic primary. The swell of potential challengers comes as Adams faces a federal investigation into his campaign fundraising, resident concerns about budget cuts and rising costs to care for tens of thousands of migrants.
Stringer has raised more than $424,000 since January, a sum that will grow to more than $2.1 million when public matching funds are added in, his campaign said Monday. The city’s public campaign-financing system provides eight dollars for each dollar given by a New York City resident, up to $250.
Myrie, who opened an exploratory committee to run for mayor two months ago, reported raising $326,480, which will total $1.3 million with expected public matching funds, his campaign said.
Stringer, 64, also served as Manhattan borough president and as a member of the state Assembly. He held the comptroller’s post from 2014 through 2021 before mounting an unsuccessful run for mayor in 2021.
“Our fundraising success is due in large part to a desire, a real belief that the city is really heading in the wrong direction,” Stringer said in an interview. “People are concerned about crime, they’re concerned about the lack of affordable housing and people are very concerned about education opportunities for their kids. They’re looking for a mayor who has a proven record of competence, someone who understands the finances of the city, someone who is a grownup.”
Stringer and Myrie, a 37-year-old progressive, are among a handful of candidates seeking to challenge Adams, whose favorability among New York City residents reached a record low in a December Quinnipiac Poll. Other candidates considering potential runs include former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Queens state Senator Jessica Ramos, and current city Comptroller Brad Lander.
“New Yorkers across all five boroughs are supporting Zellnor because they’re ready for strong, new leadership in City Hall,” Myrie spokesperson Monica Klein said in a statement. “Zellnor knows we need a well-run city where we all can afford to live and raise families — and grassroots donors across the five boroughs agree.”
But Adams’ low poll numbers and legal troubles haven’t hurt the mayor’s ability to fundraise, his campaign said. The mayor’s reelection campaign already had more than $2.5 million in cash on hand, and a spokesperson for the campaign said Adams would report raising an additional $1 million over the last six months. When combined with his previous fundraising, the haul will ultimately total more than $8 million after matching funds are included.
Mayoral candidates who participate in the city’s public matching funds program in 2025 are allowed to spend a maximum of $7.9 million during the primary.
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