Governor Kathy Hochul has raised $10 million for her reelection and the state party, showing strong fundraising efforts.

Even though Hochul has set fundraising records before, this time isn’t a record-breaker. Her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, usually raised around $4 million at this stage. But Hochul has been focused on boosting the state party, which has struggled for years. The $6.7 million she raised for the party is a big jump from the $813,000 Cuomo raised in the same period back in 2020.
Currently, Hochul’s campaign has $15.5 million on hand, while the state party has $2.6 million. For comparison, Cuomo had $16.8 million in January 2021 and the party had just $513,000.
Last year, Hochul raised a whopping $53 million for her campaign, which turned out to be a closer race than usual for New York Democrats. She only became the incumbent 15 months before that election.
As she looks ahead to potential challengers for next year, Hochul is navigating a new fundraising landscape. Cuomo had some loopholes that allowed him to raise huge sums from donors, but new rules now cap donations at $18,000.
However, the state party isn’t limited by these new rules. They showed their strength in down-ballot races last year, and Hochul can still raise big checks to support her reelection.
One of her potential challengers, Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, is also making moves. He plans to report raising $856,000, which is similar to the $832,000 Hochul raised when she was lieutenant governor back in 2020. It’s interesting to see how this all plays out!