Campaign contributions drying up for Cuomo

Governor raised only $5M through first six months of 2015

From left: Marc Holliday and Andrew Cuomo
From left: Marc Holliday and Andrew Cuomo

The campaign cash isn’t flowing like it once did for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. The governor has only raised $5 million through June.

Real estate companies and developers were among the key donors, with eight limited liability companies affiliated with Unique Management contributing a total of $200,000.

Empire Merchants, which lobbied for a bill related to wine warehousing, gave $67,200 through an affiliate, while SL Green Realty contributed $25,000 and provided $15,633 of in-kind donations covering office rent, according to Capital New York.

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Developer Thomas Wilmot and his wife each gave $5,000 to Cuomo, with Wilmot recently winning a license to build a casino in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York. Cuomo’s bill to expand gaming facilities in the state originally banned licensees from making campaign contributions, but the language was removed at the last minute, Capital New York reported.

The drop in campaign donations could be influenced by the fact it is a non-election year, with Cuomo winning his second term in office last November. The governor’s reelection campaign benefitted from the support of the real estate industry, with some of Cuomo’s larger donors including the likes of Glenwood Management, Brookfield Asset Management and Extell Development. [Capital New York]Rey Mashayekhi

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Gov. Cuomo’s campaign haul this period was the lowest since 2008.