Mamdani’s New York Mayoral Campaign Collected Thousands in Illegal Donations – RedState

Records now show that socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s campaign accepted thousands of illegal contributions from outside the United States. Could this be a bad October surprise for Zohran Mamdani?

Maybe. But probably not. The New York Post broke the story on Sunday.

The campaign of left-wing socialist and mayoral favorite Zohran Mamdani quietly raised nearly $13,000 in potentially illegal foreign donations — including one from his mother-in-law in Dubai, The Post has learned.

At least 170 of the nearly 54,000 campaign contributions to the leading Democratic candidate came from donors with addresses outside the United States, according to a review of NYC Campaign Finance Board records.

Only U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents are allowed to contribute to political campaigns and political action committees under federal, state and municipal laws, and candidates are expected to return all illegal donations. Violators who knowingly accept foreign donations face heavy fines and imprisonment.

$13,000 isn’t exactly a huge amount, compared to the $15.3 million the campaign raised. But it is not the amount that is at issue here; it’s the law.

But so far, the campaign has failed to return 88 of the foreign donations worth a total of $7,190, records show.

Mamdani’s campaign has raised $4 million in private donations, another $12.7 million in public matching funds and, with less than a month until Election Day, has nearly $6.1 million on hand.

His campaign released a statement Saturday saying that “we will of course return any donations that do not comply with the CFB Act” after receiving a detailed breakdown of the 88 donations remaining to be returned.

Very good, good. Here’s the real question: Will this affect the outcome of this mayoral race? And unfortunately, the answer is “probably not.” Here’s why.

First, Zohran Mamdani has a significant, if inexplicable and sad, lead in the polls over the other candidates. Sunday’s RealClear poll average puts him at 38.2 percent, compared to Andrew Cuomo’s 23.2 percent, Curtis Sliwa’s 16.6 percent, and Eric Adams’ moribund campaign is still at 10.4 percent. If the three candidates opposing Mamdani joined forces and lined up behind Andrew Cuomo as (I can’t believe I’m writing this) the best candidate, with the best chance of winning, they might just have a chance. But with the election only a little over three weeks away, that seems unlikely.

Second, and this is one of the great ironies that we sometimes see in politics, Mamdani’s campaign funding has long exceeded that of his competitors, even though all illegal contributions are returned. The Mamdani campaign, as noted above, raised $15.3 million. That’s compared to Andrew Cuomo with $9.3 million, Eric Adams with $6.8 million and Curtis Sliwa with $4.2 million. Now, money isn’t everything. Her Imperial Majesty Hillary I, in the 2016 presidential campaign, significantly outperformed Donald Trump, and that election ended with Trump’s victory and Her Imperial Highness dunked in a bottle of vodka. But it’s better to have more money in the campaign coffers than less, and Mamdani has plenty of it.

Learn more: Mamdani Wants to Eliminate New York’s Gifted and Talented Schools – Guess Why

Despicable: Mamdani admits looking away as women were raped in Cairo during 2013 uprising

The Post presents a long list of illegal Mamdani donors. New York’s Campaign Finance Board is reportedly auditing all campaigns citywide. This is going to take time – and as I pointed out, the elections are in three weeks. While this is a troubling revelation for anyone who cares about the rule of law, you know, it’s not an issue that weighs heavily on the left. If cheating helps them win, so be it, and New York is a blue city. So it looks like Zohran Mamdani is still ahead in the final straight away, with nothing in his way.

Then there is this:

A campaign spokesperson, however, declined to specify why so many foreign donations are still in Mamdani’s war chest.

You don’t say.

Editor’s note: The Schumer ruling is here. Rather than putting the American people first, Chuck Schumer and radical Democrats forced a government shutdown on health care for illegal immigrants. They own that.

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