Copyright New York Daily News
Michael Bloomberg donated a combined $5 million to a couple of anti-Zohran Mamdani super PACs earlier this week, making the billionaire ex-mayor the general election cycle’s single largest political contributor, the Daily News has learned. On Wednesday, news broke Bloomberg had given $1.5 million to Fix the City, the largest super PAC operating in the 2025 mayoral race to advocate against Mamdani and in favor of Andrew Cuomo, who’s running in Tuesday’s mayoral election as an independent. Along with that contribution, Bloomberg, who supported Cuomo’s failed bid in June’s Democratic mayoral primary, reiterated his endorsement of the ex-governor, saying he has the “toughness to stand up for New Yorkers and get things done.” Previously unreported disclosures show Bloomberg also gave an even bigger donation Wednesday to a second anti-Mamdani outfit, pumping $3.5 million into the coffers of For Our City, a newly-formed super PAC operated by a group of wealthy businessmen. Bloomberg’s Fix the City and For Our City contributions make him the single largest donor in the Nov. 4 general mayoral election cycle. It also comes after he shelled out $8 million, most of it to Fix the City, during this summer’s Democratic mayoral primary campaign, a cycle in which he was also the single largest political donor. That means Bloomberg, who made his fortune running his eponymous financial data and media company, has now spent a whopping $13 million on efforts to help elect Cuomo and beat Mamdani, the Democratic Party’s mayoral nominee. Howard Wolfson, a longtime adviser for Bloomberg, referred The News to the ex-mayor’s statement from earlier in the week when asked about the For Our City contribution. “Being Mayor of New York City is the second toughest job in America, and the next mayor will face immense challenges,” Bloomberg’s Wednesday statement read. “Andrew Cuomo has the experience and toughness to stand up for New Yorkers and get things done. I hope you will join me in supporting him.” Bloomberg’s latest spending spree comes as Mamdani — a democratic socialist who has vowed to tax the rich and companies doing business in the city in order to fund expanded social safety nets for working class New Yorkers — continues to poll as the favorite to win Tuesday’s mayoral election. Polls have consistently shown Cuomo trailing Mamdani by double digits, and super PACs backing the ex-gov are trying to turn the tide by spending heavily on ads portraying the Democratic nominee as dangerous and inexperienced. The day before Bloomberg’s donation to Fix the City, that PAC dropped $1.1 million on a television ad featuring clips of disorder in the city along with a dramatic voiceover and screen texts warning of how Mamdani will bring “mayhem” to New York. “Sit this one out at your own peril,” the voiceover says of the Nov. 4 election.
