More candidates are running serious campaigns for New York City mayor in 2025 than any year in recent history. And a vulnerable incumbent may not be the only reason.
Two powerful incentives are combining to lure more candidates into the race: ranked-choice voting and public matching funds. Each one was created as a pro-democracy reform intended to empower non-wealthy donors and boost participation; together, they can give the appearance of viability even to weaker candidates, who can bring in multimillion-dollar hauls with relative ease and claim a path to victory even if few voters rank them number-one on their ballots.
Supporters say the 10-candidate field in this year’s Democratic primary shows both programs are working exactly as intended. But the increasingly lengthy ballot has fueled grumbling among some campaign staffers, who fear it will be a challenge for voters to wrap their heads around and prevent any candidate not named Andrew Cuomo from breaking through.
“There’s a perverse incentive for people who really aren’t viable and shouldn’t be running to stay in the race because they have very little to lose,” said a staffer for one mayoral campaign who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.
This year is only the second contest to feature both programs: ranked-choice voting began in 2021, while matching funds have been in existence since 1989 — although the present $8-to-$1 matching level for contributions up to $250 has only been in effect since 2019. The 10 established Democratic candidates running for mayor in 2025 exceeds even the eight leading candidates who ran for an open seat in 2021, or the five who ran for the previous open seat in 2013. (All 10 candidates are participating in the matching funds program this year.)
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams became the latest person to enter the mayor’s race last week, no doubt mindful of how she could benefit from both programs. Matching funds will give her a shot at catching up to other candidates’ major fundraising advantage, and the goodwill she has cultivated from her battles with Mayor Eric Adams could help her get a spot on voters’ ranked-choice ballots, said Democratic strategist Trip Yang.
“Adrienne is a non-controversial speaker,” Yang said. “She has stood up to the Eric Adams administration in multiple budget fights, when it was clear that the public sentiment was against the administration’s cuts to library and park hours.”
Ben Max, executive director of New York Law School’s Center for New York City and State Law, said it is legitimate to question whether the growing field could pose its own difficulty for voters.
“When you see a field this big, even if you can break it up into a couple of tiers of candidates, there is still undoubtedly the risk of diluting the field to a degree that even under ranked-choice voting, you could have challenges relating to voter attention, voter comprehension, whether voters actually rank multiple candidates on their ballot,” he said.
Much can change between now and June. But early data shows how even lesser-known candidates have managed to assemble credible campaigns: State Sens. Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos have both hovered in the low single digits in early polls, but Myrie has banked $2.8 million thanks to a $2.2 million infusion of public funds. (Ramos has not yet raised the minimum $250,000 needed to qualify for public money.)
Campaigns are still adapting to ranked-choice voting in its second major test, and it remains to be seen how it will shape this year’s mayoral race. In theory, ranked-choice voting is supposed to encourage coalition-building and give a boost to broadly palatable candidates, rather than polarizing ones who only appeal to small subsets of the electorate. John Kaehny, executive director of the watchdog group Reinvent Albany, said candidates have only themselves to blame if they fail to campaign the way the system is designed for.
“Not only are you campaigning to turn out your vote, you’re also campaigning to get the active cross-endorsement as a second or third [choice] from your opponents,” Kaehny said.
No mayoral candidates have cross-endorsed each other yet this year. But the candidates are wary of repeating history: in 2021, Kathryn Garcia and Maya Wiley did not form an alliance, despite consistent polling that showed them running second and third behind Eric Adams. In the end, Garcia could have beaten Adams had she received only a few thousand more lower-place votes from Wiley’s supporters. (Garcia ran as a relative moderate while Wiley was seen as progressive, a likely factor in their reluctance to align with each other.)
The combination of matching funds and ranked-choice voting has not fueled any explosion in candidates running for down-ballot offices. Fewer than 200 people are running for City Council this year, according to city campaign finance records, compared to more than 450 who ran in 2021, 250 in 2017 and 250 in 2013.
Tim Hunter, a spokesman for the city’s Campaign Finance Board, which administers matching funds, said in a statement that the program “makes it easier for regular people to run for public office” and ensures that the money is used responsibly.
“Our robust audit process lifts the veil on how campaigns spend money and who is financially supporting candidates, providing greater transparency and accountability to New Yorkers,” Hunter said.
