A 34-year-old state assemblyman wasn’t supposed to beat Andrew Cuomo. Zohran Mamdani polled at 1% in February 2025. The former governor commanded name recognition, institutional endorsements, and donor networks built over decades. But by June, Mamdani had won the Democratic primary by 12 points.
Two financial mechanisms help explain the reversal. New York City’s 8-to-1 matching system multiplied grassroots contributions into competitive resources. And healthcare executive Rehan Azhar orchestrated an emergency $550,000 fundraising push when billionaire money threatened to swamp the race’s final week.
When the Money Arrived
Six days before the June primary, Mamdani’s prediction market odds dropped from 40% to 13% overnight. Michael Bloomberg had just pumped over $5 million into anti-Mamdani super PACs, joining other billionaires already spending tens of millions.
Rehan Azhar, who’d been tracking Mamdani’s social media operation since early 2025, made a decision. The New Yorkers for Lower Costs super PAC gave him one constraint: a Thursday noon deadline. After that, no time remained to deploy funds before Election Day.
“I blasted my contacts, I called all of them and I ended up raising, including my own contributions, $550,000 in 24 hours,” Azhar said. “And that was 40% of the total PAC.”
His personal check—over $150,000—became the super PAC’s largest single donation. D.C.-based Rocket Money co-founders contributed more than $189,000.
For Azhar, the motivation went beyond tactics. “Mamdani, he’s Muslim. I’m Muslim. And the type of politics he stands for is what I stand for,” he said. “I’ve never seen someone like me run for office and be successful.”
The Public Matching Foundation
Azhar’s intervention mattered because it arrived atop a foundation built over months. Mamdani’s campaign had already unlocked $8.1 million in public matching funds—more than any other mayoral candidate this cycle.
New York City multiplies the first $250 of each public donation by eight. A resident’s $50 contribution generates $450 in campaign spending power. The system rewards volume over size.
Mamdani’s average donation was $98. Cuomo’s was $615. Over 16,000 individuals contributed to Mamdani’s campaign, with 73% living in the five boroughs.
Mamdani raised roughly $4 million from donors. The matching program converted that into $17 million total, with $13 million from public funds. Cuomo ended with $14 million after matching—$8 million of it public.
The Campaign Finance Board operates independently, auditing every filing. Cuomo learned this the hard way when the board denied him $2 million in April over documentation errors, then penalized his campaign $622,000 for coordinating with Fix the City, the super PAC that spent $28 million backing him.
Super PACs spent $56 million supporting Cuomo or attacking Mamdani. Pro-Mamdani groups spent $23 million. That’s a 2.4-to-1 disadvantage. Yet Mamdani won comfortably.
Campaigns buy television time at lower rates than super PACs pay. The candidate appears on screen speaking directly. Super PACs must use B-roll and third-party voices.
Pro-Mamdani groups spent 83% of their budget promoting policy. Anti-Mamdani groups spent 42% attacking rather than building a case for Cuomo.
Campaign Tactics That Multiplied Money
The campaign focused relentlessly on housing affordability while opponents cycled through messages. A Coney Island soccer tournament and citywide scavenger hunt drew thousands who then volunteered.
Campaign swag—beanies, fans, bandannas—could only be earned through volunteer shifts, never purchased. This converted money into labor hours.
The June primary meant summer availability for student canvassers and mild weather for door-knocking. March would’ve meant academic calendars and freezing temperatures.
What the Victory Demonstrates
A year ago, Rehan Azhar had never written a political check. By June, he’d rallied a half million dollars in a single day. That sprint mattered because months earlier, the matching system had already done something billionaires couldn’t stop: it let 16,000 people turn their $50 and $100 contributions into a campaign that could compete.
Bloomberg still spent his millions. The super PACs still flooded the airwaves. Cuomo still had every institutional advantage. None of it was enough.
Public financing doesn’t pick better candidates or smarter policies. It just changes the math on who can run and who decides. In 2025, that was enough.
