Nearly $5 million was awarded in matching funds to candidates in New York City elections on Wednesday by the New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB). Notably, Mayor Eric Adams’ campaign was denied matching funds, the tenth denial this election cycle.
The CFB awards matching funds to candidates, $8 for every $1 donated to campaigns by New York City residents, out of the city’s General Fund. Republican nominee for the Mayoral Race, Curtis Sliwa, received $1,910,530 in matching funds on Wednesday, his first award this 2025 election cycle. Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani received $1,682,037 in matching funds from the CFB.
Board Chair Frederick Schaffer, in a press release, said, “The Board determined Mayor Adams’ campaign has failed to demonstrate eligibility for public funds payment at this time on two grounds: one, failure to provide requested information, and two, reason to believe the campaign violated the law.”
He continued, “With respect to the failure to provide requested information, the Board finds the campaign has provided incomplete and misleading information to the CFB and has impeded the CFB staff’s ability to complete its investigation. With respect to the second ground, the Board’s conclusion is based upon its review of all of the available evidence, including but not limited to its own independent investigation.”
At the time of reporting, the Adams campaign had not commented on the CFB’s decision.
