Deep-pocketed, out-of-state donors account for 78% of the nearly $2.4 million raised by a super PAC backing Zohran Mamdani’s NYC mayoral campaign.
Lefties outside the Empire State wrote fat checks totaling $1,831,706 to the group, New Yorkers for Lower Costs, as of Friday, records showed.
The sum included $762,631 from 26 California donors, with most of it coming from just two people.
“Mamdani’s campaign isn’t about New York City — it’s about fueling a national socialist movement bankrolled by donors in California and beyond … with Hollywood and out-of-state activists trying to dictate the future of our city,” said Mayor Eric Adams’ campaign spokesman Todd Shapiro.
“New Yorkers don’t need lectures from California millionaires about how to live, work, and raise their families,” he said.
Other out-of-state money included $212,000 from donors in Washington, D.C., and $170,000 from Illinois.
Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime Democratic political consultant, attributed the surge in out-of-town interest in the race to socialists and other far lefties nationwide believing that one of their own winning the mayoralty in America’s largest city will lead to even bigger things.
“New York is target No. 1,” he said. “They’ve never had an opportunity like this. If he wins, it also will be the beginning of the national crusade for socialists to take over other large cities across the country.”
New York residents provided $526,675 — or just 22% — of the political action committee’s funding.
In comparison, a superPAC supporting ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s mayoral bid called “Fix The City” has pulled in more than $20 million – or 74% — of its $27.1 million in donations from New Yorkers.
The “Empower NYC” superPAC supporting Mayor Adams’ re-election bid has seen $1,347,600 – or 92% — of its $1,462,600 donations come from the Big Apple.
The groundswell of out-of-state support for Mamdani through the political action committee even exceeds the surge he saw for his campaign committee — which announced last week it reached the race’s $8 million fundraising cap — following his shocking defeat of Cuomo in the June Democratic primary.
Since the primary, more than half of the donations poured into Mamdani’s campaign were from outside the state, compared to less than one-fifth of the donations the Queens assemblyman received before the stunning upset.
The superPAC operates independently of Mamdani’s campaign.
Adams and Cuomo, both Dems, are running as independents in November’s general election. Cuomo’s campaign declined comment.
Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa also took issue with Mamdani’s out-of-state support.
“When the PAC propping up Zohran Mamdani gets nearly 80% of its money from out of state, halfway across the country like California, that isn’t grassroots; it’s Astroturf, and he isn’t who he says he is,” Sliwa said.
The pro-Mamdani PAC has already spent nearly $1.4 million of the donations on out-of-state consultants creating ads, text messages and providing other campaign resources, with more than $1 million of the work farmed out to companies in D.C. and the rest in California and Canada, records show.
Mamdani campaign spokeswoman Dora Pekec deferred comment to the PAC, whose organizers did not return messages.
