Zellnor Myrie brings in another $183k for mayoral run

State Sen. Zellnor Myrie says he’s crossed a major milestone as he continues his bid for New York City mayor. In his latest campaign finance filing, he’ll have raised enough to meet the threshold to participate in the city’s 8-to-1 public matching program, his campaign said.

In the eight months that he’s been fundraising, the campaign has brought in a total of $647,449. Of that, roughly $183,500 has come in in the past three months, reflecting a slower pace of intake since October than in the first five months of fundraising. Myrie’s campaign emphasized the milestone of qualifying for matching funds – roughly $302,000 is matchable, they said – estimating a total war chest of just over $3 million when including the public funds that expect to receive. (The city’s Campaign Finance Board makes the ultimate determination on eligibility for and the release of matching funds.)

“Zellnor is serious about making our city livable and affordable – which is why he’s the only candidate who has released a plan to tackle the housing shortage head on,” campaign spokesperson Monica Klein said in a statement. “With more than 3,300 donors behind him, Zellnor is building the momentum needed to power his campaign and rebuild our city.”

Myrie’s donors include Tusk Partner Shontell Smith, Abigail Disney and Emma Bloomberg, daughter of former Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Last month, the only campaign to qualify for the first payment of matching funds was that of former Comptroller Scott Stringer. While the CFB can deny matching funds for multiple reasons – like not filling out proper paperwork or following CFB rules – the only reason listed for denying Myrie at the time was that he hadn’t met the threshold. 

Reports from the most recent filing period, which ended on Saturday, are expected to be posted for all campaigns by Wednesday. So far, independent Jim Walden reported raising a hefty $629,736 since his launch in late October. That’s on top of about $300,000 of his own money he put in, the Daily News reported. Whitney Tilson, a Democratic candidate who entered in late November, reported raising $411,546 in just six weeks, according to Politico.

Myrie, who represents Central Brooklyn, faces an uphill road to building name recognition and support across the city. In one recent poll commissioned by Progressives for Democracy in America, Myrie landed at 1% among likely Democratic voters.