(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Fulop raises enough for full match in ’25 gubernatorial primary [1] ['David Wildstein'] Date: 2023-10-05 12:30:36+00:00 After a towering $3 million fundraising haul since launching his bid for the 2025 Democratic nomination of Governor last April, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop has raised enough money to qualify for a full match under New Jersey’s public financing law. Fulop raised a massive $800,000 over the last three months and is now mostly finished raising money – there are no limits on how much he can raise for his super PAC – for a primary that is still more than nineteen months away. New Jersey offers $2 for every $1 raised, which means Fulop’s campaign will have more than $7.3 million to spend in his pursuit of the governorship. His fundraising success gives him a considerable jump on other potential candidates. “Now that we’ve completed our fundraising campaign for the primary, we’ll be able to focus our time on organizing and continuing to build support in all 21 counties,” Fulop said. “I would like to thank each and every one of the more than 2,000 donors who made this possible because they believe in our vision for New Jersey’s future.” Fulop has reached the maximum amount needed to qualify for matching funds faster than any gubernatorial candidate in New Jersey history. His super PAC, Coalition for Progress, reported a gigantic $6.5 million cash-on-hand as of the end of June. It’s still unclear what Fulop’s cash-on-hand is; he’s been running a shoestring campaign so far to avoid spending too early. By participating in the state’s public financing program, Fulop must agree to a spending limit for the primary. In the super PAC era, this is an easy call. The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission sets campaign contribution limits and spending caps and historically adjusts the amount for inflation. In 2021, the contribution limit for the primary election was $4,900; with a $4.6 million cap on matching funds, candidates had a $7.3 million spending limit in the primary campaign. In the last election, there was a deductible of $156,000 before funds were matched. ELEC Deputy Executive Director Joe Donohue told the New Jersey Globe in July that the commission won’t award matching funds until early 2025, no matter how early a candidate qualifies. Donohue expects the commission to establish thresholds to qualify, contribution limits, and caps on campaign spending until December 15, 2024. That means Fulop might have to raise a little more, but that amount would be nominal. Raising enough to get 100% of the available matching funds isn’t always an easy task. In 2017, Republican Kim Guadagno, the sitting lieutenant governor, couldn’t hit that mark. Two years ago, candidates needed to raise $490,000 to qualify for matching funds; only Gov. Phil Murphy and Republican Jack Ciattarelli did so. Since April, Fulop has scored endorsements from fourteen mayors, including Marty Small of Atlantic City and Reed Gusciora of Trenton, two Democratic county chairs – Hudson and Warren – several labor unions, and Assemblywoman Sadaf Jaffer (D-Montgomery). “In less than six months since we launched this campaign, we have already achieved more than just about anyone thought was possible thanks to the incredible level of support we are receiving from elected officials, community leaders, and residents throughout New Jersey,” Fulop stated. Two other potential candidates for governor, Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff) and Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) are planning to seek re-election to Congress next year and won’t be able to launch state fundraising accounts until after the November 2024 election. Another possible contender, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, is unlikely to take any steps to run statewide until the upcoming legislative races are over in five weeks. Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller, the president of the New Jersey Education Association, must decide by March if he will seek re-election as in the May 2024 mayoral election. Other potential gubernatorial candidates include Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Senate President Nicholas Scutari, former Senate President Steve Sweeney, Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee Chairman Paul Sarlo, and former Deputy U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Jim Johnson. In April, Fulop’s gubernatorial campaign announced that several top Democratic media consultants, pollsters, researchers and digital strategists had joined his team, including Mark Putnam as his media consultant, Fred Yang as his pollster, Ian Mandel as a research consultant, Megan Clasen as a digital consultant, and Phil Swibinski of Vision Media Marketing. [END] --- [1] Url: https://newjerseyglobe.com/governor/fulop-raises-enough-for-full-match-in-25-gubernatorial-primary/ Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/