Maloney’s foe raises $100G in only 12 days

Suraj Patel, an NYU professor who’s mounting a 2020 primary bid against longtime Manhattan Rep. Carolyn Maloney, raised more than $100,000 in the first 12 days of his campaign, a significantly larger haul than the last time he ran for the same seat, records show.

Patel (inset), who unsuccessfully challenged Maloney in 2018, pulled in $103,198 between his rematch campaign launch Sept. 18 and the most recent reporting deadline on Sept. 30, according to donation records obtained by the Daily News.

The 35-year-old professor and progressive activist, who’s also the president of an Indianabased hospitality company, has disavowed corporate donations and regularly rails against Maloney, 73, for relying on them. He raised $34,248 in the first month of his 2018 campaign, records show, suggesting his second crack at representing

New York’s 12th District is gaining more traction than his first.

“We are so gratified by the support Suraj has received thus far,” said Tania Arriyales, Patel’s finance director. “Unlike our opponent who took in nearly 50% of her contributions directly from corporations this year, we will be funding this movement through individuals and grassroots donations.” Roughly 71% of Patel’s 2020 fund-raising haul so far came from donors who gave less than $200, with a total of 152 individual contributors, according to records.

Maloney’s 2020 campaign, by contrast, has raised $712,722 so far this election cycle, with $322,300, or 45.22%, coming from corporate PACs, including Nasdaq and Blackrock Funds Services Group, records show. About 53% of Maloney’s 2020 cash comes from individual donations above $200, while only 1.73% comes from contributions smaller than $200.

Spokesmen for Maloney’s campaign did not immediately return requests for comment.

Maloney was first elected to Congress in 1993. Her district spans the Upper East Side and parts of Queens and Brooklyn.