Top question for Hamptons donors amid summer fundraising season: Who can beat Mamdani?

WASHINGTON — The big focus at the East End soirees of this year's Hamptons summer fundraising circuit has been the big race occurring 100 miles west — as deep pocketed donors from both political parties weighed which New York City mayoral candidate to back against Democratic candidate and front-runner Zohran Mamdani.

The Hamptons continued to attract its summertime mix of big-name politicians looking to woo big-money donors, but the focus of many in New York’s donor class is Mamdani’s candidacy and his vows to raise taxes on millionaires and corporations.

While Mamdani, a self described democratic socialist, avoided the glitzy gatherings out east, incumbent Eric Adams courted support at a backyard bash hosted by restaurateur Noah Tepperberg and a breakfast with business leaders. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo fielded questions at an intimate gathering hosted by media mogul Jimmy Finkelstein. And Republican long-shot Curtis Sliwa collected $21,000 in checks after speaking to business leaders in Southampton.

"Anyone but Mamdani" is the running sentiment among donors, said Republican Manhattan mogul John Catsimatidis, who hosted a weekly Saturday "Hamptons Business Power Breakfast" this summer that drew visits from Adams, Cuomo and Sliwa.

The full-court press to collect cash in the Hamptons — a long-standing tradition given the East End's status as a preferred summer destination for some of the country’s wealthiest individuals — comes as Mamdani leads the crowded pack of candidates in polling that has him at 44%, 19 points ahead of second-place Cuomo, according to the most recent Siena College poll released Aug. 12.

Catsimatidis, who owns a series of supermarket chains and conservative radio stations including WABC, said some in the business community are waiting on President Donald Trump to weigh in, adding that some Republicans support Adams’ willingness to work with the Trump administration on immigration enforcement and would want the next mayor to find ways to collaborate with Trump.

"Most Republicans would be willing to vote for Adams or Cuomo, even if they're Democrats, if they're willing to work with the Trump administration on issues like crime and immigration," Catsimatidis said in a phone interview.

Trump has trashed Mamdani, threatening a federal takeover if the state assemblyman wins in November, but he has stopped short of endorsing any other candidate when asked multiple times this summer.

A busy season

Trump’s rapid overhaul of the federal government also weighed heavily on the fundraising season as several potential 2028 Democratic presidential contenders passed through the Hamptons, including Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona.

Robert Zimmerman, a Democratic national committeeman from Great Neck, told Newsday in a phone interview that he noticed an uptick in the number of fundraising invitations he received this summer compared with past summers, attributing the increase to "the great concerns about the national political scene, and because of great concerns about New York City’s political scene."

"It's a welcome relief to focus on the upcoming presidential election and the travesties of the Trump administration, instead of talking about the New York City mayoral race," said Zimmerman, who hosted informal meet-and-greet events for Beshear and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) who ran in the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential primary.

Republican Andy Sabin, an East Hampton business owner and longtime political donor, said he wanted to throw his financial support behind one of Mamdani’s challengers, but was not thrilled by his options.

"I’m like most people, I can’t stand any of them," Sabin said in a phone interview conducted moments before boarding a helicopter from Manhattan to East Hampton.

Adams has been embroiled in a series of first-term public corruption scandals. Cuomo, the former three-term Democratic governor, reentered the race as an independent following a major primary loss to Mamdani. And Sliwa, the red beret-wearing anti-crime activist, has rejected calls from some Republicans to bow out to consolidate votes behind Cuomo or Adams.

Sabin, the chairman of Sabin Metals, said he was planning to host a summer fundraiser for Adams before scrapping the event. He described Adams as "not the most ethical," said Sliwa was "not bright enough" and criticized Cuomo’s response to nursing home deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying "I’m not going to get past that."

Asked about Sabin’s comments, Adams campaign spokesman Todd Shapiro told Newsday the fundraiser was canceled over scheduling conflicts, because the campaign wanted to merge Sabin's fundraiser with another also in the works to maximize the mayor’s time out east.

"The mayor is running as an independent and seeks support from both Republicans and Democrats in this election," Shapiro said in a phone interview when asked who Adams was courting during his time in the Hamptons.

Cuomo’s campaign did not return an email seeking comment, but the former governor’s appearances in the Hamptons over the July Fourth weekend and again in August have generated headlines.

Cuomo reportedly told a group of donors at an Aug. 16 Southampton fundraiser hosted by Finkelstein that he believed there would be opportunities to cooperate with Trump, according to audio of the fundraiser obtained by Politico New York.

"Let’s put it this way: I knew the president very well," Cuomo said. "I believe there’s a big piece of him that actually wants redemption in New York."

Criticism from Mamdani

Mamdani has taken aim at Cuomo’s summer fundraising swing, casting the former Westchester County and Albany governor’s mansion resident as a suburban dweller. Cuomo, a native of Queens, has been living in a midtown Manhattan luxury apartment during his mayoral run.

"Suburban man retreats to safe space," Mamdani wrote in an X post linking to a report of an Aug. 8 Cuomo fundraiser in the Hamptons.

Mamdani’s campaign did not immediately return a request for comment on concerns raised by Sabin, Catsimatidis and other donors.

Sliwa reportedly raised $21,000 after speaking at Catsimatidis’ Aug. 11 breakfast, but his campaign insists they’re focused on the small-dollar donations they have collected so far.

"Curtis already has over 10,000 small-dollar donations, was well-received in the Hamptons, and will be fully funded by everyday New Yorkers," said Daniel Kurzyna, a senior adviser to Sliwa, in an email. "Sooner or later, even the elitists will realize that Curtis Sliwa is the only real choice to save New York City."

Adams led the pack of candidates in fundraising during the city’s most recent reporting period — raising $1.5 million in donations between June 10 and July 11, according to the New York City Campaign Finance Board website. Mamdani raised $852,000 during that period; Sliwa raised nearly $181,000; and Cuomo, who did not reenter the race until July 17, raised close to $70,000 during that period as speculation mounted about his possible return.

The stakes for the Hamptons set to put their money behind a winning candidate is high, said Republican campaign strategist Michael Dawidziak of Bayport: "They may or may not be registered to vote in the Hamptons or Manhattan, but obviously the money is the big part, not the vote. A lot of these people have a huge financial interest in what happens in Manhattan, and who’s making the decisions."