Key financial backers of Andrew Cuomo are pausing and reevaluating their support for the New York governor, who has been accused of sexual harassment by two female former aides, according to people directly involved in fundraising.
Several of these people declined to be identified out of fear of retribution from the governor, who will be the subject of an independent state investigation. Cuomo is running for a fourth term in next year’s election.
„No one is giving to him now. Everything is on hold,“ one finance executive said.
Others expressed their befuddlement about the crisis Cuomo faces.
„I think people who like him and have been with him for a long time are scratching their heads, asking how did he put himself in that position,“ Bernard Schwartz, a New York businessman who has supported Cuomo for years, told CNBC on Monday.
„Unless he comes forward and faces it completely and openly and honestly, he doesn’t deserve a fourth term, even though I like him immensely,“ said Schwartz, who has given $70,000 to Cuomo’s campaign since 2019. Schwartz said he plans to call Cuomo in the coming days.
Cuomo is a moderate Democrat who has built a vast and powerful network of donors. Since July, his campaign has raised over $4 million, state records show. His campaign started the New Year with a war chest of over $16 million.
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