Zohran Mamdani has raised nearly $200,000 from donors on Long Island since his June Democratic primary victory, but he remains behind several rivals in total local fundraising, campaign finance filings show.
Mamdani reported about $104,000 from Long Island contributors between July 12 and Aug. 18, outpacing other New York City mayoral candidates during that reporting period, according to the filings. He had roughly $57,000 from Long Island donors before his primary win, and his campaign characterized the inflow as evidence of growing suburban support even though Long Islanders cannot vote in the city election.
Despite Mamdani’s recent momentum on Long Island, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has pulled in substantially more overall from the region, with campaign filings showing more than $1.5 million in Long Island donations as he runs on an independent line after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani. In the most recent filing period Cuomo received about $46,500 from 52 Long Island donors.
Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who also is running as an independent following his exit from the Democratic primary, has received just over $1 million from Long Island donors overall. Adams’ most recent filing shows he raised under $29,000 from 35 Long Island contributors during the July 12–Aug. 18 window. Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa drew a larger number of individual Long Island donors in that stretch—294—but collected only about $22,000; his campaign has raised roughly $51,000 from the region in total, the filings indicate.
The fundraising patterns come amid a shifted political landscape on Long Island. The region backed former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, with more than 53% of the vote, flipping Nassau County Republican for the first time since 1988 and reinforcing Suffolk County’s GOP strength. Campaign advisers and analysts say suburban donor networks can provide money and volunteer connections even where voters themselves are ineligible to cast ballots in the city contest.
Several prominent Long Island Democrats have publicly broken with Mamdani. U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi said last week, "Zohran Mamdani and other Democratic Socialists should create their own party because I don’t want that in my party." Former state legislator and congressional candidate Laura Gillen called Mamdani’s policies "the wrong choice for New York City," saying she would not endorse him and noting that "over 300,000 Long Islanders commute to New York City every day and ensuring the city succeeds is vital for our region."
Mamdani’s appeal among some suburban voters included an unexpected nod from former Suffolk County police Commissioner Rodney Harrison, who praised elements of Mamdani’s police reform proposals—particularly a plan to dispatch mental health professionals to certain nonviolent calls instead of police. The endorsement, described by critics as half-hearted, underscores the complex local responses to the candidate’s platform on policing and public safety.
Campaign finance records show the latest reporting covered July 12 through Aug. 18; comparisons reflect totals reported in those filings and cumulative Long Island contributions disclosed by the campaigns. The filings indicate that while Mamdani has accelerated his fundraising from the suburban region since the primary, his totals still lag behind opponents who have tapped larger networks of Long Island donors or benefit from prior name recognition and broader independent ballot strategies.
Candidates and campaigns routinely use such periodic filings to gauge financial strength and to plan outreach. The filings do not indicate how funds will be allocated on the ground in the weeks before the general election, but they provide the clearest available snapshot of which outside suburban donors are backing each mayoral contender.