NY Gov. Hochul builds $17.5M campaign war chest — as likely GOP challenger Rep. Elise Stefanik gains fundraising momentum

ALBANY – Gov. Kathy Hochul grew her massive campaign war chest in the first half of the year, as Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), a potential challenger, boasted a massive fundraising haul of her own.

The Democratic governor raised around $4 million for her re-election bid in the first half of 2025, leaving it with around $17.5 million in the bank, according to her campaign.

“In the last six months, Governor Kathy Hochul has seen grassroots support pour in from every single county in the state as she fights back against Donald Trump and delivers real progress toward a safer, more affordable New York,” Hochul’s campaign manager, Preston Elliott, wrote in a statement Monday.

But while Hochul’s early fundraising advantage is clear, her likely challengers in next year’s race are already posting impressive totals of their own.

Stefanik — who has yet to officially pull the trigger on running for the GOP nomination — raised $4 million between her campaign and various committees over the last quarter, her spokesperson said.

The congresswoman’s camp claimed it was the most ever raised by a New York Republican in a single quarter during an off-cycle year.

“I am humbled by the record early support from generous grassroots donors and supporters in New York and across the country,” Stefanik wrote in a statement.

“I will continue to work tirelessly to enact President Trump’s historic mandate in Congress, ensure Republican victories up and down the ballot in New York, and then we will fire Kathy Hochul once and for all next year,” she said.

Stefanik’s campaign raised $138,000 in the first quarter of 2025. She holds around $11 million cash-on-hand across all her accounts, her campaign said.

Those funds could ultimately be repurposed to help the North Country Republican’s gubernatorial campaign if she officially jumps in the race.

Fellow potential GOP challenger Rep. Mike Lawler reported raising $1.4 million in the second quarter of 2025.

That’s on top of $1.5 million raised by his congressional campaign in the first quarter of the year, leaving him with around $2.2 million cash-on-hand.

“New Yorkers in the Hudson Valley are tired of extremism and political stunts. Congressman Lawler is delivering on issues that matter like middle-class tax relief — including his promise to lift the cap on SALT, safer communities, and economic prosperity, and he is in a prime position to win re-election next November,” a spokesperson for Lawler’s campaign wrote.

The Republicans aren’t the only ones cranking the cash machine.

Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, who is running against his estranged boss Hochul for the Dem nomination, hauled in almost $1.5 million between his various accounts, his campaign said.

“After launching the campaign just six weeks ago, today’s filing shows real momentum and that we have the resources we need to communicate Antonio’s vision for bold, transformational change,” a Delgado spokesperson wrote in a statement.

During the first half of the year, Hochul’s camp said she also raised around $7 million for the state Democratic party apparatus.

That haul is big for Hochul, who worked last cycle to build out a coordinated campaign effort with the party to support Dems in New York’s congressional battleground districts and other downballot races.

The stash of cash could be a major source of power for the governor, as she faces a primary from the left by Delgado.

She may also feel compelled to use the apparatus to defend allies and other incumbents should Democratic New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani and his gang of socialists follow through on threats to mount primaries against establishment pols like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).