Former City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Scott Stringer has raised close to $425,000 over the past 6 months since he launched an exploratory committee to challenge Mayor Eric Adams in the 2025 race for City Hall, according to numbers his campaign shared with amNewYork Metro.
Stringer’s campaign, which shared the numbers ahead of Monday’s campaign finance filing deadline, said the haul came from approximately 2,100 donations, 1,800 of which were from residents of the five boroughs — averaging $157 per donor. Of the $424,000 Stringer raised, $207,000 of that funding can be used to obtain about $2.1 million in the city’s public matching funds program, according to the campaign. He has $304,000 cash on hand.
The forthcoming filing provides the first clear evidence of viable challenges to the incumbent mayor in the 2025 Democratic primary.
Stringer, who previously served as Manhattan borough president and an Assembly member, told amNewYork Metro that he believes his filing is “very strong,” and demonstrates that donors trust his experience as a manager and fiscal watchdog.
“I think this reflects our grassroots campaign,” Stringer said. “I think it shows a willingness for people to fight for the direction [of] the city … I think people are coming to our campaign because they want change, and they’re expressing themselves with thousands of small-dollar contributions. And when you add it all up, I think it’s pretty clear that we’re going to have enough resources to go on television and continue to build a door-to-door campaign.”
Stringer is taking his second shot at the mayoralty after coming in fifth place in the 2021 Democratic primary following allegations of sexual harassment that torpedoed his campaign. He fiercely denies the allegations and is suing one of his two accusers, Jean Kim, for defamation.
The campaign is “definitely moving forward,” Stringer said, as the fundraising haul “exceeded our expectations.” By the end of the 2021 primary, Stringer had raked in over $6 million in matching funds, according to city Campaign Finance Board records — meaning he is already roughly a third of the way there.
But he gave the caveat that he has not yet made a decision on whether to move out of the exploratory phase and formally declare his candidacy.
“The next step is to have a discussion with community leaders, elected officials, labor leaders, to hear what they have to say,” he said. “And my family and I will then sit down over the summer and then make a formal announcement decision in the next couple of months.”
As for Adams, whose filing will also be updated on Monday, he is reportedly expected to disclose over $1 million raised since January. The mayor had $2,237,747 cash on hand as of his last disclosure 6 months ago. The mayor has been consistently raising money since then, even as his 2021 campaign remains under investigation by federal authorities over its fundraising operation.
That probe, the mayor’s sinking poll numbers and a series of unpopular budget cuts he enacted over the past year — which have now been largely reversed — have left Adams in a politically weakened position that has invited Springer and other prospective challenges.
One of those potential candidates is state Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D-Brooklyn), who launched an exploratory committee in May. His campaign’s viability will become far clearer with his Monday filing.
Brad Lander, the current city Comptroller, is also set to enter the race in the next couple of weeks, according to a report from the Daily News.
