What Do You Say, First Filing Day?

On July 15, the first filing day for the 2017 election cycle, 19 candidates filed a total of $778,764 in contributions with the CFB. Contributions of $175 or less accounted for 31% of those collected, and 79% of all contributors so far are New York City residents.Reflecting early fundraising by mostly incumbent officeholders, the average individual contribution size was just short of $600.

Key First Filing Day Stats from Recent Elections

The best analogue to 2017 is probably 2005, the last election cycle to begin with all three incumbents in citywide offices eligible to run for reelection. Still, 19 candidates have started campaigns, compared to just three candidates who were active at this stage during the 2005 elections.

Candidates began fundraising aggressively and early in 2009, preparing for anticipated open races for all citywide offices (the term limits law in place at that time would have barred the three incumbents from seeking reelection). Indeed, more than 70% of all contributions reported in that first filing were collected by candidates who would eventually run for one of those offices in 2009.

At first blush, there was a sharp drop in 2017 compared to 2013, but it is not as precipitous as the table suggests after factoring in the effect of the 2008 term limits extension. A number of candidates were permitted to carry over contributions to their abandoned 2009 campaigns for use in 2013.

Subtracting out those carry-over contributions, filings show 15 candidates raised $1,158,686 during the first six months of the 2013 cycle, for an average individual contribution size of $483. It is worth noting that the average individual contribution for the entire 2013 election cycle was $342. So, if 2017 follows the pattern in past elections where the early money is big money, the average contribution size should decline.