Business leaders pouring cash into NYC mayoral race to beat Mamdani, but unclear who to back
This year's mayoral race is shaping up to be the first competitive general election in years, with incumbent Mayor Adams running as an independent and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo still in the mix.
The stakes have been ratcheted up as members of the business community, taken by surprise at Mamdani's upset victory in the primary, scramble to defeat him. But it's unclear whether Cuomo, who lost by double digits to Mamdani in the primary, or Adams, whose first term was marred by a federal corruption indictment, is the better bet.
Basil Smikle, a Democratic strategist, called the current situation a 'solution looking for a problem' with the potential to backfire and wind up helping Mamdani.
'There's a strong possibility that instead of using those resources to defeat him, they'll just encourage his base even more,' Smikle said.
A new political action committee against Mamdani, called New Yorkers for a Better Future Mayor 25, formed Tuesday. It's not yet clear who, if anyone, it will back. Fix the City, a pro-Cuomo super PAC, has continued to rake in donations as it looks to pursue supporting a 'free-market candidate,' according to a rep.
Meanwhile, Adams has collected over $1 million in just the past two weeks, as he's fundraised from the Hamptons to Midtown, according to his campaign. At a fundraiser hosted by real estate giant SL Green, he raked in nearly $1 million.
Mamdani is a democratic socialist running on proposals to make buses and childcare free and to freeze rents for stabilized tenants. To pay for that agenda, Mamdani proposes raising taxes on the city's top 1% as well as jack up the corporate tax rate. Those priorities have unnerved city business leaders while generating enthusiasm among younger city-dwellers.
Mamdani has focused his campaign on populist messaging, emphasized door-to-door ground outreach and built up his campaign coffers with small dollar donations. On the campaign trail, he slammed Cuomo for sharing a donor base with President Trump and said he'd be beholden to them once in office.
Cuomo collected larger donations and Fix the City, the super PAC in Cuomo's support, raised roughly $24 million for the ex-governor's primary run, a record-shattering amount.
The ex-governor's primary donor base now appears to be split, with some sticking by their candidate and others, like Bill Ackman, announcing a pivot to supporting Mayor Adams.
Cuomo and Adams are widely seen as sharing a similar base of older, more moderate voters who oppose Mamdani's progressive agenda. Both men have also sharply criticized Mamdani over his views on Israel and Gaza, accusing him of taking antisemitic positions.
It's possible that Cuomo and Adams could split the opposition to Mamdani if they both remain in the race until November. That has created some uncertainty among donors as they decide who, if not Mamdani, to throw their money to in the already high-spending race.
'Another tactic they could take is… find a way to work with him,' Smikle suggested.
'You may have disagreements, but you know, if you see that organized labor is getting behind him, you have electeds joining him.. That should tell you everything you need to know about the importance of engaging Mamdani voters.'
Mamdani is making his own appeals to the city's business community.
'My vision of this city is not one where any business leader leaves this city, where any real estate developer feels as if they have no place,' Mamdani said Thursday. 'It is a vision of this city where everyone stays, everyone thrives, and we actually make enough room for more to join us.'
Since Mamdani's primary win, labor and many elected officials have endorsed him. Powerful labor unions including 32BJ, the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council and the United Federation of Teachers have also backed Mamdani. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who is hugely influential among many of the city's Latino voters, threw his weight behind Mamdani on Thursday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
We're about to find out who's really paying for tariffs
Earnings season gets going in earnest this week, giving investors a fuller picture of how tariffs are impacting the bottom line—and specifically how much of the cost is being eaten by companies and how much is being passed on to consumers. So far, tariffs have yet to fuel a surge in inflation, but their effects are expected to show up more later this year. Earnings for the second quarter will heat up this week, with more at stake than usual as they represent a fuller picture on how tariffs are actually affecting businesses and consumers. The top U.S. banks will report, starting with JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo on Tuesday. In the tech sector, streaming leader Netflix and chip giant TSMC report on Thursday. Among industrials, results from Alcoa, GE Aerospace, and 3M are also due this week. The consensus estimate on Wall Street is that earnings from S&P 500 companies grew just 4% in the second quarter from a year ago, the slowest pace since 2023 and down from first-quarter growth of 13%. That comes as President Donald Trump's trade war has yet to fuel a big inflation inflation spike, though tariffs are expected to show up more in economic data later this year. The consumer price index will come out on Tuesday, and analysts expect a 0.3% monthly increase for June, up from May's 0.1% pace. The producer price index is due on Wednesday, and is also expected to show acceleration to 0.2% from 0.1%. The uptick could be a due to companies running out of inventories that were stockpiled ahead of the tariffs, forcing them to incorporate more of those costs in the price of their goods. Capital Economics said last week that Wall Street doesn't see Corporate America shouldering much of the future tariff burden, and exporters don't appear to be cutting their prices aggressively to offset the tariffs. A survey published last week by KPMG found more than 80% of companies plan to hike prices in the next six months, and 73% said they have already passed on up to half of tariff-related costs to consumers. But that was still not enough to preserve earnings, as 57% of firms said their gross margins are falling. Meanwhile, economists at Goldman Sachs expect companies will pass on 70% of tariff costs to consumers via higher prices, according to a note earlier this month. If that pans out, it would be a heavier blow than some earlier forecasts. Chris Harvey, Wells Fargo Securities' head of equity strategy, said if tariffs settle around 10%, then a third of the cost could be eaten by the importer, a third by companies, and a third by consumers. 'That's not a big impact,' he told CNBC on May 30. That 10% target looks increasingly optimistic, as Trump has continued to push for aggressive rates. Goldman Sachs expects the effective rate to eventually settle around 17%. But companies that pass on tariff costs also risk a backlash. The KPMG survey said 34% of companies said customer pushback is a challenge, and 45% said sales are already beginning to dip. And there's one consumer in particular that companies need to avoid annoying: Trump. In May, he warned Walmart not to hike prices after the retail giant said on an earnings call that prices could go up on a wide array of products. 'Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain,' Trump posted on Truth Social. 'Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected. Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, 'EAT THE TARIFFS,' and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I'll be watching, and so will your customers!!!' Capital Economics said last week it suspects U.S. firms will eat more costs, 'if only in the short run for political reasons.' Either way, the upcoming earnings reports will reveal more definitively who is eating how much. More pain on the consumer side could fuel inflation and prevent the Federal Reserve from lowering rates, weighing on the stock market. More pain on the corporate side will erode earnings—and also weigh on the stock market. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pentagon to start using Grok as part of a $200 million deal with Musk's xAI
The Pentagon has signed on to use Grok, the AI chatbot built by Elon Musk's company xAI, as part of a new $200 million agreement that opens the door for its deployment across the federal government, the company announced Monday. The announcement comes amid Musk's public breakup with President Trump and days after Grok generated antisemitic responses and praised Adolf Hitler. The rollout is part of "Grok for Government," a newly launched suite of tools designed for use by federal agencies, local governments, and national security operations. xAI said its products, including its latest Grok 4 model, will now be available for purchase through the General Services Administration (GSA), allowing any federal office to adopt the technology. The move aligns with the Trump administration's push for more aggressive adoption of artificial intelligence across the government. Since taking office in January, Mr. Trump has championed AI as a pillar of national security and innovation. Musk himself briefly served in the Trump administration earlier this year, overseeing the White House's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, before stepping down in May amid a public break with Mr. Trump over his sweeping tax and spending bill. Musk has since emerged as a sharp critic of that legislation, even floating the idea of launching a third political party. Despite the rift, xAI has continued to expand its government work. The new offering includes custom national security tools, AI-powered science and health applications, and cleared engineering support for classified environments. The announcement comes just days after Grok generated antisemitic responses to user prompts and referenced Hitler as part of what the company called an effort to make the model "less politically correct." Hours later, Musk wrote in a post on X that "Grok was too compliant to user prompts. Too eager to please and be manipulated, essentially. That is being addressed." The posts were later deleted and xAI said it "quickly" patched the issue. One day later, xAI launched an upgraded version of Grok it described as a major leap forward. Musk also announced that Grok would be used in Teslas. But the latest version was not without kinks, too: Grok checked with Musk's views before answering a question, according to The Associated Press. Grok was introduced in late 2023 as a more unfiltered alternative to other chatbots like ChatGPT, and is already integrated into Musk's social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. "America is the world leader in AI," xAI said in Monday's post announcing the Pentagon deal. "We're excited to contribute back to the country that made xAI uniquely possible here." Sen. Lindsey Graham says "a turning point, regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine, is coming" Trump pushes senators to make $9.4 trillion in spending cuts Student's unique talent that's for the birds
CNN
18 minutes ago
- CNN
Nvidia to resume H20 GPU chip sales to China, launches compliant model
Nvidia (NVDA) said it plans to resume sales of its H20 artificial intelligence chip to China, days after its CEO, who is visiting Beijing, met US President Donald Trump. Nvidia's AI chips have been a key focus of US export controls designed to keep the most advanced chips out of Chinese hands amid national security concerns, restrictions that the US-listed company said would cut its revenue by $15 billion. The world's most valuable firm is filing applications with the US government to resume sales to China of the H20 graphics processing unit (GPU), and expects to get the licenses soon, Nvidia said in a statement. 'The US government has assured NVIDIA that licenses will be granted, and NVIDIA hopes to start deliveries soon,' it said. Nvidia, which has criticized the export restrictions the Trump administration imposed in April that stopped it from selling its H20 chip in China, also said it has introduced a new model tailored to meet regulatory rules in the Chinese market. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The US government has expressed concern that the Chinese military could use AI chips to develop weapons. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is scheduled to hold a media briefing in Beijing on Wednesday when he attends a supply chain expo, his second visit to China after a trip in April where he stressed the importance of the Chinese market. 'The Chinese market is massive, dynamic, and highly innovative, and it's also home to many AI researchers. Therefore, it is indeed crucial for American companies to establish roots in the Chinese market,' Huang told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday. Nvidia has faced increased competition from Chinese tech giant Huawei and other makers of graphics processing units – the chips used to train artificial intelligence. But Chinese companies, including its big tech firms, still crave Nvidia chips due to the company's computing platform known as CUDA. Huang's visit is being closely watched in both China and the United States, where a bipartisan pair of senators last week sent a letter to the CEO asking him to abstain from meeting companies that are working with military or intelligence bodies. The senators also asked Huang to refrain from meeting with entities named on the United States' restricted export list. The move to resume sales of the H20 chips comes amid easing tensions between Washington and Beijing, with China relaxing controls on rare earth exports and the United States allowing chip design software services to resume in China. 'The uncertainties between the US and China remain high and despite a pause in H20's ban, Chinese companies will continue to diversify their options to better protect their supply chain integrity,' said He Hui, research director of semiconductors at Omdia. The H20 chip was developed specifically for the Chinese market after US export restrictions were imposed on national security grounds in late 2023. The AI chip was Nvidia's most powerful legally available product in China until it was effectively banned by Washington in April. The H20 ban forced Nvidia to write off $5.5 billion in inventories, and Huang told the Stratechery podcast earlier this year that the company also had to walk away from $15 billion in sales. Nvidia also announced the development of a new AI chip designed specifically for China, called the RTX Pro GPU. The company described the model as 'fully compliant' with US export controls and suitable for digital twin AI applications in sectors such as smart factories and logistics. In May, Reuters reported Nvidia was preparing to launch a new AI chip, based on the RTX Pro 6000D, in China at a significantly lower price point than the H20. The graphics processing unit would be part of Nvidia's latest generation Blackwell-architecture AI processors and was expected to be priced well below the H20 due to its weaker specifications and simpler manufacturing requirements, sources said. China generated $17 billion in revenue for Nvidia in the fiscal year ending January 26, accounting for 13% of the company's total sales, based on its latest annual report. Huang has consistently highlighted China as a critical market for Nvidia's growth.
