New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani raked in $3 million toward his transition effort in the 30 days since he was elected mayor, his transition team announced Friday.
Nearly 30,000 people have donated to the socialist’s transition fund, with an average donation of $88.
Mamdani is outpacing Mayor Eric Adams and former Mayor Bill de Blasio in transition funds and the number of donations. His average donation amount is well below Adams’s average mark of about $1,000 and de Blasio’s $2,392.
“Our transition is bringing people in and making New Yorkers partners in ushering in a new era for our city,” Elana Leopold, Mamdani’s transition executive director, said in a statement shared with the Washington Examiner.
“More than 29,000 people have contributed to help us build a City Hall that is ready to deliver on our affordability agenda on day one. This movement is possible because of those individual contributors, and they are essential to building this people-powered administration,” Leopold added.
Mamdani’s transition fundraising prowess comes with little surprise. He was prolific in raising funds throughout the mayoral race, maxing out the city’s public fundraising match well before the primary and general elections.
Just like in his campaign, he’s used creative and humorous social media videos to drum up support.
Mamdani released a video last week that reached over 720,000 views on X, just making a pun about chili. “Friends, it’s chilly out there … it’s chili in here,” he said in the video, holding a spoon of chili. “But one thing I’m warming up to is the idea of a fully-funded transition. So, go to transition2025.com and pitch in whatever you can. Let’s win a city we can all afford.”
His transition has also drawn support from thousands of people who want to join in. The transition says more than 71,000 people from every ZIP code in the city have applied for roles.
“The response underscores how deeply New Yorkers want a government that reflects and works for them,” the transition team said.
Transition teams typically use funds to hire staff and set up support for the new administration. Anticipating a new staff, the group recently told more than 150 Adams employees to leave by the time Mamdani is sworn in.
The transition team is co-chaired by four women, including former Federal Trade Commission head Lina Khan. It recently named more than 400 people, including some top Democratic Socialists of America leaders, to transition committees.
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Mamdani’s transition team said funds will be used to “primarily support hiring and retaining staff responsible for building out the new administration, funding office operations, and ensuring excellence in the processes behind the transition.”
Mamdani, soon to be the city’s first Muslim mayor and its youngest in decades, will be sworn in Jan. 1, 2026.