Primary voters won’t cast their ballots for almost a year, but the two candidates officially vying for four years in the governor’s mansion are already raking in millions in campaign contributions.
Incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul is leading the pack after amassing more than $4.3 million in the first half of the year, according to July campaign filings from the state Board of Elections. Hochul spent more than $1.8 million, leaving her with about $17.5 million in her campaign account.
Hochul’s campaign war chest dwarfs the $1.4 million held by her Democratic rival, Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado. The lieutenant governor raised just under $1.5 million in the first half of the year. He acquired the lion’s share of that money — over $1 million — in the last six weeks of the six-month filing period after he split from Hochul and announced his own bid for governor in June.
“Our campaign is powered by people in every community across our state,” Hochul said in a tweet announcing that she received donations from all 62 of New York’s counties. “I’m so grateful to have you by my side in this fight!“
Delgado told BTPM NPR that he has a novel strategy to fund his campaign: New York’s Public Campaign Finance Program, which uses state funds to match donations made by individuals that are $5-250 at a 6-1 ratio. For example, a qualifying $100 donation would unlock $600 of state funds, allowing a candidate to bring in a total of $700.
The program became available to statewide candidates for the first time this election cycle, and Delgado is the first major gubernatorial candidate to take advantage of the program. Hochul is at least so far not participating in the program.
“I don’t take corporate PAC money. I only build with, you know, real people,” Delgado said in an interview. “[The public matching funds program] is a very important new dynamic in gubernatorial races, where I can connect with folks all across the state who might not be the richest, might not be the wealthiest.”
Under the program’s rules, Delgado would need to raise $500,000 from 5,000 in-state individuals in order to qualify for matching funds. The lieutenant governor has raised about $220,000 in qualifying donations from just over 3,000 qualifying individual donors.
No Republicans have officially launched a bid for Albany’s top job. Rep. Mike Lawler was mulling a campaign, but he announced last week that he would run for reelection to his House seat instead.
Rep. Elise Stefanik recently told supporters at a rally in Erie County it was a matter of “when,” not “if,” she would launch a campaign.
Stefanik’s campaign says she raised $4 million in the second quarter of year from 50,000 unique donors. The congresswoman had $11 million on hand in her congressional campaign account.
Hochul is already taking aim at Stefanik. In campaign materials, the governor has criticized the “far-right” congresswoman for supporting tariffs, healthcare cuts and President Donald Trump.
At other times, the governor has tried to seem above the fray.
“I don’t worry about these things. That is down the road,” Hochul said in a July interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “I suspect there are people conspiring against me for next year. You know, whether it's Republicans or something, it goes with the turf. I mean, I can handle this. You know, it's my 16th election. I know how to do this.”
Emyle Watkins contributed reporting