With recent first glimpses at fundraising numbers and polling, as well as a steady stream of endorsements coming in, the dynamics of the new 10th Congressional District race are finally becoming clearer a little over a month out from the Aug. 23 primary.
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings released after the first filing deadline last Friday, U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-Westchester, Rockland Counties) has by far out raised his competitors, having brought in $3.3 million overall and with $2.8 million on hand.
Jones, who decided to run for the open CD10 seat – that includes much of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn neighborhoods like Park Slope and Sunset Park – after getting pushed out of his current district by U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-Hudson Valley), didn’t have to raise much during the first month of the race. He came into the contest with nearly $3 million in his campaign coffers, which he had originally raised for reelection to his current seat, and has brought in an additional $524,000 this quarter.
“The energy our campaign is seeing on the ground is both humbling and exhilarating. It’s remarkable what we’ve been able to build together, and I know this grassroots support will lead us to victory,” Jones said in a release distributed a week ahead of the filing deadline. “It’s clear that New Yorkers want a progressive champion who gets results for New York City, and I look forward to continuing building out our campaign and delivering for working people.”
However, the upstate rep reportedly returned $5,800 in donations from a Hell’s Kitchen nightclub owner currently being sued over allegations of imposing racist and sexist entrance policies and allowing illegal drug use at a club he co-owns.
Jones’ campaign has been endorsed by high profile national politicians including U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) and U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) – lead manager in the second impeachment of ex-President Donald Trump.
Dan Goldman, head counsel in the first Trump’s first impeachment, also had a strong showing in his FEC filing, raking in over $1.2 million in contributions – numbers his campaign released two weeks before the filing deadline – and a little over $1 million at his disposal.
Then there’s a steep drop-off to former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who raised $510,537 and has $450,400 currently at his disposal. He’s followed by City Council Member Carlina Rivera (D-Manhattan) and Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou (D-Manhattan), who raised $400,992 and $241,214 respectively.
While not leading the pack in fundraising, Rivera and Niou have both out-performed their competitors in recent polls from Data for Progress and the New York Working Families Party (NYWFP). The Data for Progress poll, which asked likely Democratic voters about eight of the candidates in the 15-way race, put Rivera in the lead with 17 percent support and Niou following close behind with 14 percent.
Rivera’s campaign has also received major endorsements from U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens) – who currently represents many parts of the new District 10 – and the powerful health care workers union 1199SEIU.
The poll from the NYWFP, which endorsed Niou in the primary – effectively making it an internal poll, has Rivera and Niou tied for first place, out of the eight candidates voters were asked about, both receiving 16 percent support.
Despite his relatively strong fundraising numbers, the former mayor did quite poorly in both polls – getting just 5 and 3 percent support from likely voters in each. However, de Blasio did nab the endorsement of San Juan – the capital of Puerto Rico – Mayor Miguel Romero Sunday, meeting with voters at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Sunset Park and Jacob Riis Houses in the Alphabet City.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the support of my colleague and friend, Mayor Miguel Romero. As Mayors, Miguel and I have been on the frontlines of the challenges in our communities the last few years,” de Blasio said in a release. “New York City and San Juan have both had to fight back against COVID and the effects of climate change, so Miguel’s support means the world to me as we tackle these challenges at a national level in Washington.”
Also vying for the open seat are former congress member and city Comptroller Elizabeth Holtzman and Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon (D-Brooklyn). They brought in the smallest hauls out of the major candidates, raising $122,849 and $181,587 respectively.
Early voting in the August primary takes place from Aug. 13-21.
