New York Mayor Bill de Blasio raked in almost half a million dollars to his federal action committee in the last year, but many of his top donors do not plan on voting for him for president.
“I’m certainly not a supporter of him running for president. I’m not a supporter of anyone at the moment,” billionaire Barry Diller, who donated the $5,000 maximum towards de Blasio’s Fairness PAC last fall, told the New York Times.
One hundred and fifteen people contributed more than $450,000 to de Blasio’s political action committee. Of those, 35 people answered questions about their support of de Blasio, with only five saying they believed the mayor should be president.
“Honestly speaking, I was asked by a co-worker if I can help, and I did,” said Nail Capri, a business executive who also contributed the maximum amount toward the PAC. Capri said he did not support de Blasio for president.
Howard L. Gottlieb, a founding partner of a private investment firm, donated $5,000 to de Blasio and does not even remember his donation.
“Do you think I remember every dime that I’ve ever given to anyone, especially as insignificant as that?” Gottlieb said, saying he was not interested in voting for de Blasio for president.
De Blasio’s lack of support among his own donors compliments low enthusiasm among the general public. His 2020 presidential campaign is polling at 0% according to a poll by Quinnipiac University released last week. His unfavorability rating among voters was 45% with an 8% favorability rating.
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