21 July 2021: Cuomo Scandals Take Bite Out of Campaign Fundraising

Gov. Andrew Cuomo Is Losing Major Political Donors Amid Federal, State Probes

This report uses Andrew M. Cuomo's political fundraising as a measure of the extent his power has diminished as a result of his multiple scandals. Perhaps the most important part of the context is that his reduced fundraising capability comes a year after his popularity and power reached its zenith:

For over a decade, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been a fundraising juggernaut, taking in more than $130 million from developers, unions, finance executives and others to build a sheen of invincibility around his governorship.

But Mr. Cuomo is starting to lose some of his major donors, suffering defections in recent weeks that could complicate an expected re-election bid as he fights off a state sexual harassment probe and a federal investigation into how his administration handled Covid-19 in nursing homes.

The desertions are a worrying sign for a governor who has sought to project strength through one of the rockiest stretches of his 11 years as governor. Mr. Cuomo raised $2.3 million over the past six months—the second-smallest haul of any such period of his governorship, according to campaign finance disclosures filed last week. For the first time, he was outraised by a Republican rival, U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, who announced a gubernatorial bid in April.

Jeff Gural, a real-estate developer and casino owner who has previously given $175,000 to Mr. Cuomo’s campaigns, says he is turning his back on the Democratic governor because he doesn’t like the way he conducts business and has felt threatened to donate in the past. Mr. Gural said recent reports about the governor’s alleged harassment—which Mr. Cuomo has denied—were concerning and he was unhappy with how the state decided to legalize mobile sports betting.

“He’s smart, but he’s a bully and his tactics are a disgrace. And people should know how he runs the state,” Mr. Gural said.

The problems Gural describes have persisted throughout Cuomo's tenure in office, but the scandals have made them more visible and more distasteful to previous donors. What money Cuomo has collected is being offered by organizations and individuals who stand to benefit in areas over which Cuomo's position as New York's governor gives him direct influence. In terms of corruption, it's a form of "pay to play" and it has been going on a very long time.

That's how Cuomo's campaign organization has managed to accumulate $18 million to spend in New York's next elections, carrying over excess funds collected before the scandals erupted.

One thing to pay attention to is the Cuomo campaign's spending, specifically how fast it goes through the money it has on hand on the services it buys. If the campaign's vendors lose confidence in Cuomo's ability to raise funds to pay them, they'll start demanding more money up front, which will accelerate how quickly the money it has in the bank declines. That would also be an indication of Cuomo's diminished power as a result of his scandals.