Adams reelection campaign reaches fundraising maximum to compete in Democratic primary: Sources

New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ reelection campaign says it is effectively done fundraising for now - but not because he has been indicted.   

Campaign sources tell NBC New York they believe Adams’ 2025 campaign for mayor has maxed out - having reached the $8 million spending cap to compete in the Democratic primary in June.  

“Mayor Adams’s strong support from New Yorkers continues — and the campaign has now raised the maximum amount it can spend in the primary with anticipated matching funds for his reelection far ahead of schedule,” Campaign manager Vito Pitta told NBC New York.

The campaign’s most recent fundraising totals had not been posted yet by the Campaign Finance Board because the Adams campaign submitted them after the CFB offices closed on Friday -- which was the filing deadline for the last quarter.

An Adams campaign official told NBC New York they had raised just $190,000 since July 11, bringing them to a total of $4.1 million.

The campaign estimates that $500,000 of the donations they raised will qualify for 8 to 1 public matching dollars - drawing down another $4 million.

Last week, NBC New York asked Mayor Adams why his 2025 campaign seems somewhat invisible - with no apparent website, social media presence or campaign finance chair listed on the CFB website.   

Adams said his strategy was to conserve campaign resources. “We don’t want to peak too soon,” he said.

The only officer identified on the CFB website is Sharon Adams, the mayor’s sister-in-law who has served as the campaign’s treasurer since 2022, according to Pitta. Adams is working as an unpaid volunteer, he added.

Adams associates also denied that attorney Frank Carone - who set up a consulting firm Oaktree Solutions representing clients with business before the city after serving as Mayor Adams’ chief of staff for one year - is serving as campaign finance chair.

Carone served as Eric Adams’s finance chair in 2021 and Adams previously said he would repeat the role in 2025.

When NBC New York asked the Mayor recently about Carone’s role in the campaign, Adams said that Carone “wants to be helpful” but did not specify what role he is playing in the campaign, nor whether he discontinued his role as finance chair because of potential conflicts of interest.

The mayor’s 2025 reelection campaign has hired Michael Giaccio as its paid fundraiser. Giaccio wears two hats. He also serves as the fundraiser for Adams' criminal defense trust. 

The mayor’s legal defense trust also has an Oct. 15 deadline to file information on its most recent donations and expenditures. Pitta said the data would be filed with the NYC Conflicts of Interest Board later Tuesday evening and that we could expect to see fundraising numbers that pale in comparison with huge mounting expenditures on legal bills.  

Adams’ attorneys charge thousands of dollars an hour. The city's conflict rules bar Adams from accepting discounted legal services or recruiting donations from people with business before the city.

Unlike his Democratic challengers who are just gearing up to run - Mayor Adams has been raising money for reelection since he took the reins at City Hall in 2022. 

The Adams campaign did not have a comment on whether they anticipated the CFB might try to withhold any matching campaign dollars because of federal criminal fraud charges connected to his 2021 campaign fundraising. 

The CFB did not immediately return calls for comment.