Of all the mayoral hopefuls, New York City Comptroller and numbers man Scott Stringer has the most in his campaign coffers – but he isn’t the only one laying the groundwork for a run.
Here are the declared and potential 2021 New York City contenders – and how much they’ve raised so far, as of the most recent filing.
Scott Stringer
Born: 1960
Home: Financial District, Manhattan
Current job: New York City comptroller
Previous jobs: Manhattan borough president, assemblyman
Fundraising: $2.59 million in 2021 account
Declared? Officially, no
Why he’ll win: Stringer is a political animal, with citywide executive experience, Upper West Side establishment credentials and a progressive track record.
Why he won’t: Stringer doesn’t fit the mold of the insurgent political movement he’s appealing to, and lacks the charisma of his main competitors.
Eric Adams
Born: 1960
Home: Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
Current job: Brooklyn borough president
Previous jobs: State senator, NYPD officer
Fundraising: $2.29 million in 2021 account
Declared? Verbally yes, officially no
Why he’ll win: Adams, the only major black candidate, is appealing to outer-borough voters with his law enforcement credentials and pragmatic politics.
Why he won’t: Adams has been flying under the radar and doesn’t speak the language of the left that’s politically en vogue.
Ruben Diaz Jr.
Born: 1973
Home: Soundview, Bronx
Current job: Bronx borough president
Previous job: Assemblyman
Fundraising: $931,000 in 2021 account, $384,000 in previous accounts
Declared? Yes
Why he’ll win: Diaz has close ties to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Bronx Democratic machine, and can appeal to Spanish-speaking voters as the only Latino in the race.
Why he won’t: Those Cuomo and machine ties could actually hurt him. Not to mention his gaffe-prone father with the same name.
Corey Johnson
Born: 1982
Home: Chelsea, Manhattan
Current job: New York City Council speaker
Previous jobs: New York City councilman; Manhattan Community Board 4 chairman
Fundraising: $432,000 in 2021 account
Declared? Officially no, just “exploring”
Why he’ll win: Johnson is full of charisma and big ideas, building allies in a City Council with a growing list of progressive wins.
Why he won’t: No City Council speaker has gone on to win higher office – maybe because it’s easy to make political enemies.
Christine Quinn
Born: 1966
Home: Chelsea, Manhattan
Current job: President and CEO at Win, a homeless services provider
Previous job: New York City Council speaker
Fundraising: $263,000 in previous accounts
Declared? No, but she’s reportedly thinking about it
Why she’ll win: There’s an opening for a woman in the race, and Quinn has an intriguing record working to fix homelessness, one of the city’s biggest problems.
Whe she won’t: Quinn couldn’t win in 2013, and her time out of government could make her an even weaker candidate this time around.
Editor's note: This post has been updated with more recent fundraising numbers as of July 17, 2019.
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