Jim Walden’s campaign for mayor gains momentum with $630K raised, outpacing rivals.
New York: Jim Walden, a well-known lawyer, is making waves in the mayoral race. He raised an impressive $630,000 in his campaign’s first reporting period. That’s a big deal for a first-time candidate!
His fundraising, which happened between October 8 and last Saturday, is more than any other challenger to Mayor Adams has pulled in during a single reporting window. But we’ll have to wait until Wednesday to see how much the other candidates raised.
Walden shared his numbers with the Daily News before the deadline. He also mentioned he has about $300,000 of his own money in the campaign, bringing his total to around $930,000 as the primary elections approach in June.
He’s pretty excited about the support he’s received. “Friends and strangers stepped up in huge numbers,” he said. He believes they’ll be fully funded by the time the campaign heats up, and he plans to hit the streets to talk to voters about his vision for the city.
However, it looks like he won’t qualify for public matching funds when the Campaign Finance Board makes its next payments. His $630,000 came from 834 individual donors, but he needs to hit certain thresholds to qualify for those funds.
Walden hasn’t decided yet if he’ll join the public matching funds program. If he skips it, he can accept more money from each donor, which could give him an edge.
His strong fundraising is a good start for his independent campaign. He’s also considering running in the Democratic primary or even seeking the Republican nomination, so he’s keeping his options open.
Walden has a background in law and has worked with various politicians, including Andrew Cuomo. He’s focused on tackling corruption in city government, especially with the current issues surrounding Mayor Adams.
Adams is facing serious legal troubles, and Walden is using that to highlight his own campaign’s focus on integrity. He’s even proposed giving more power to the city’s Department of Investigation to go after corrupt officials.
In the past, Scott Stringer held the record for the most cash raised in a single reporting period, but Walden has now taken that title. Stringer had raised just under $411,000 in his campaign.
Adams, meanwhile, has a hefty $3 million cash balance but has faced scrutiny due to his legal issues. Other candidates are also gearing up for the upcoming fundraising disclosures, so it’ll be interesting to see how everyone stacks up.
