NEW YORK—Billionaire-led SuperPACs have poured tens of millions of dollars into the New York City mayoral Democratic primary happening today. Much of that money is laser-focused on supporting Andrew Cuomo or attacking his main opponent, Democratic Socialists of America member Zohran Mamdani, who is ahead of other candidates with his pro-peace, affordability agenda for New Yorkers.
The PACs themselves represent a strange gathering of interests: DoorDash-funded Local Economies Forward is a heavy donor, while labor union PACs, such as Hotel Workers for Stronger Communities and Empire State 32BJ SEIU, are also to be seen.
Then, there are unexpected groups, like Indian Americans for Cuomo, who paid for pro-Cuomo ads while flying a banner over New York that read, “Save NYC From Global Intifada. Reject Mamdani.” Kusum Vyas of Houston, Texas, even paid $3,000 to fly one that read, “American Hindus Support Cuomo.”
But that spending pales in comparison to the campaign cash dished out by “Fix the City,” the pro-Cuomo PAC, which has poured nearly $20 million in spending into the race, according to the latest campaign filings. It is, by far, the largest SuperPAC to ever weigh in on New York’s municipal elections. Around $12.5 million of its war chest has been spent to support Cuomo, while $7 million has been spent to attack his closest rival, Mamdani. Board members and major donors include public relations magnates, government lobbyists, construction kingpins, and more.
The major backers funding Fix the City include former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has committed more than $8 million of his own fortune, DoorDash ($1 million), and hedge fund manager and pro-Israel advocate William Ackman ($500,000).
Other interests include developer titans Steven Roth of Vornado ($150,000) and Stephen Ross of Related Companies ($50,000), as well as executives from TF Cornerstone and other real estate concerns.
Even the fashion industry is throwing its weight behind Cuomo, represented by members of the Lauder family, of the Estée Lauder fortune, who donated a total of $775,000, Michael Kors ($50,000), and Tory Burch ($30,000).
Alongside old money and new are also a variety of trade union interests, mainly construction-related, including Amalgamated Transit Union of Silver Springs, Md. ($150,000), and construction locals such as LiUNA locals 78 ($83,001) and 79 ($83,000). 
Fix the City has so far produced 87 different items of campaign propaganda: internet ads, mass texts, call-bank scripts, glossy flyers, direct mail, and prime-time commercials. Some voters in Queens tell People’s World they have received one or two pro-Cuomo or anti-Mamdani mailers daily for the entire early-voting window and are inundated with Cuomo commercials every time they turn on the television.
Why such heavy fire to stop Mamdani? It probably has something to do with his platform, which includes an immediate rent freeze for all rent-stabilized tenants, the elimination of fares on city busses, investments in citywide mental health programs and crisis response, a 2% tax on residents earning above $1 million annually, raising the corporate tax rate to 11.5%, toughening code enforcement on landlords, and fast-tracking affordable housing development.
While other Democratic primary candidates have secured PAC money as well, the combined total for all candidates besides Cuomo is just $1.8 million, as opposed to the former governor, who rakes in nearly an eye-watering $23 million as his share thus far.
It’s worth noting that this figure surpasses the $20 million record spent to torpedo U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s re-election campaign in New York’s 16th District last year in favor of pro-Israel, pro-establishment candidate George Latimer.
It’s also another example of the center-right of the Democratic Party uniting with big capitalist donors to stamp out progressive threats to its own factional dominance. It continues the losing strategy that mocked pro-peace delegates at the Democratic National Convention last year, only to see a defeat at the polls in November.
The choice of disgraced former governor Cuomo as the champion of these compromised forces throws the future of the Democratic Party and its resistance to the MAGA agenda into peril—and not only in New York.
Cuomo has been endorsed by many Democratic Party center-right elites, including former President Bill Clinton and pro-Netanyahu Rep. Richie Torres of South Carolina. Rep. James Clyburn, who was so influential with his 2020 endorsement of Joe Biden for president, also offered his endorsement, saying Cuomo had an important role to play in the future of the Democratic Party. He said that Cuomo’s “experiences, credentials, and character” could “help save the nation.”
These developments are a rebuke to working-class New Yorkers, to the MeToo Movement, and most specifically to the 13 women who have accused Cuomo of sexual harassment on the job. In case Clyburn, Clinton, Torres, or any of the dozens of elected New York Democrats who have endorsed Cuomo have forgotten, the former governor was forced to resign in 2021 because of his myriad corruption and sexual harassment scandals.
In response, New Yorkers have joined forces to campaign hard for each and every genuine progressive running for mayor. That is why some progressive candidates offered cross-endorsements to one another and sought to unite around the principle of “Anyone But Cuomo.”
Fellow mayoral candidates New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and former NYS Assemblymember Michael Blake have cross-endorsed Mamdani, and nationally-known political figures like New York Attorney General Letitia James, former Rep. Bowman, Sen. Bernie Sanders, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich have all also given him their support.
Tens of thousands of volunteers have been knocking on doors to spread that message, and the number of early voters in the New York Democratic primary more than doubled this year. The Board of Elections reports that 384,338 voters have already cast a ballot before election day.
As it was with the Bowman race last year, the mayor’s race is once again about the many vs. the money. Even if Cuomo suffers a defeat at the polls tomorrow, he is still registered to run for mayor in November as the candidate for the newly created “Fight and Deliver Party,” which he himself founded last month.
A progressive winning the Democratic nomination for mayor is not a sure success, as the failed India Walton mayoral campaign in Buffalo showed state progressives in 2021. And, of course, current Mayor Eric Adams is still in the race, as an independent.
If the united front against Cuomo survives the blistering heat of primary day, progressive forces can regroup and redouble their efforts to prepare for a general election that will likely remain just as contentious and high-stakes. Regardless of the results, the fight for the future of New York will continue well into the fall.
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