Who Are Upper East Siders Supporting In The Race For Mayor?

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Normally, Upper East Siders might find out who their neighbors are supporting for mayor by looking at polls, but for an election where polling is sparse, following the money can reveal which candidates are gaining steam in the neighborhood.

An interactive map by the city's Campaign Finance Board shows contributions for all of this year's races, including mayor, comptroller, city council and borough president.

The latest data shows money raised through May 17. With less than four weeks to go until the June 22 primaries, here's which candidates are leading in the neighborhood.

McGuire, Donovan still lead

Ray McGuire, the former Wall Street executive, leads the money race on the Upper East Side, raking in more than $2 million from residents between East 59th and 96th streets.

Shaun Donovan, an Upper East Side native and former housing secretary in the Obama administration, is a distant second at roughly $455,700. Both men also led the neighborhood's fundraising when Patch last examined the data in February.

In third and fourth place are comptroller Scott Stringer and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who have raised $261,800 and $202,200 in the neighborhood, respectively. Andrew Yang is not far behind, at more than $198,500.

Meanwhile, Dianne Morales, the nonprofit leader whose grassroots, progressive campaign has resonated in some other neighborhoods, has raised the least of any major candidate on the Upper East Side, at roughly $20,500.

Stringer, Yang strong in total donations

Breaking the data down by the total number of donations for each candidate can show pockets of local support that were otherwise hidden.

By that metric, McGuire still leads on the Upper East Side, with 1,962 total contributions in the neighborhood.

Trailing him are Stringer and Yang, who have gotten 1,115 and 1,020 separate donations from Upper East Siders, respectively.

Adams, one of the race's leading candidates, has gotten the fewest separate donations of any candidate on the Upper East Side: just 279.

Fifth, Madison avenues spend heavily

Broken down even further by election district, which give a nearly block-level view of contributions, the maps show that the Upper East Side's spending has been concentrated along the avenues close to Central Park.

Residents of those blocks have dished out hundreds of thousands of dollars — led by a district that spans eight blocks between East 60th and 64th streets, and Fifth and Park avenues. Residents there have spent more than $216,000 on this year's elections, with an average donation of $1,001.