Andrew Cuomo is continuing to rake in big money for his reelection bid. The incumbent two-term governor raised $6 million over the last six months and spent about $5 million of that, leaving a total of $31.1 million in cash on hand with less than four months before Election Day.

 

In contrast, Cuomo's Democratic primary opponent, Cynthia Nixon, continues to fall behind. As of June 15, Nixon had raised $1.1 million. Since then, she has raised an additional $500,000 and now currently has $655,000 cash on hand.

Supporters of Nixon point out that 97 percent of that total came from more than 10,000 people in donations of $200 or less.

Last week, associates of Cuomo were convicted in a bid-rigging scheme stemming from Cuomo's economic development projects. Some of those convicted were major Cuomo donors, and the governor was asked what he plans to do with the money:

"We segregated the money that they gave when we first heard about it, and we will talk to the Southern District. I want to make sure we get their input on what to do with the funding," Cuomo said Friday. "But we have it segregated."

 

 

 

Republican candidate for governor, Marc Molinaro, who reported raising $1 million this period, was also critical of Cuomo for not returning what he called tainted money.

"It's obscene to think anyone could honestly raise that kind of money. And quite frankly, the fact that the governor needs a federal investigator to tell him the difference between right and wrong and actually return the dollars he has gotten through criminal activity speaks volumes about who he is and about how disconnected her is from average New Yorkers," the Republicans said.

Supporters of Nixon said they saw a significant uptick in fundraising following Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's surprise primary victory over incumbent congressman and party boss Joe Crowley on June 26. While a financial advantage can make all the difference in a race, some believe Ocasio Cortez was able to prove that money doesn't always win.