NEW YORK—Democratic mayoral hopeful Bill Thompson’s campaign raised close to $600,000 for this filing period, doubling the last three-month filing period, according to Thompson’s Chief Strategist Jonathan Prince.
“It is a dramatic uptick in our fundraising pace,” said Prince. “The campaign is kicking into high gear at the appropriate time.”
Prince attributed the increase in contributions to improvements in the way the campaign does business, getting the messages out more efficiently, and an expanded network of supporters.
In recent weeks Thompson has picked up several key endorsements, including from NYS Board of Regents Chancellor Meryl Tisch, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., former Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch, and Queens powerbroker the Rev. Floyd Flake.
Thompson’s campaign spent roughly $300,000 this period and has $2.3 million in cash on hand, according to preliminary numbers supplied by Prince. The final numbers will be recorded on Wednesday.
Prince said the campaign has a spending advantage over leading candidates Christine Quinn and Bill de Blasio, since their campaigns have spent more than Thompson’s to date.
“[The campaign] made some smart decisions, in terms of keeping spending as tight and low as possible up until the spring,” Prince said. “I think that is why we will have something of a spending advantage come late summer and early fall when we need it.”
Campaigns have until midnight on May 15 to submit filing to the campaign finance board.
