New York Mayoral Candidate Eyes Sorority Network That Boosted Kamala Harris

NEW YORK — With American politics on fire, rising Democratic star Jasmine Crockett of Dallas turned her attention to a late entrant into a mayor’s race 1,400 miles away last week — underscoring the fundraising potential of their shared sorority network that boosted Kamala Harris last year.

“New York is symbolic of liberty and freedom and so the last thing that we need is old Donald trying to run the show up in New York,” Crockett, a member of the House, said on Instagram Live Wednesday night, alongside New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. “I want to introduce you to my friend who is running to be the next mayor.”

Adrienne Adams got into the race last weekend, and needs to raise a lot of money fast to be competitive in a crowded field led by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. One lever she’s looking to pull ahead of the June 24 Democratic primary is the Divine Nine — a network of historically Black sororities and fraternities that were among Harris’ staunchest supporters in her White House bid.

The Divine Nine helped Harris raise money on short notice last summer, bringing in more than $1.5 million just hours after she entered the race on a call titled “Win with Black Women.” She didn’t win, of course, but she ended up leading Trump by 38 points in the city Adrienne Adams is now looking to lead.

“Thank you so, so much, my amazing D9 sister, Jasmine! I just want to let you know I wore this color for you,” Adams said, clad in red, the signature color of Crockett’s Delta Sigma Theta.

Days earlier, more than 40 Black women wearing the signature Alpha Kappa Alpha pink and green to honor Adams’ sorority affiliation filled the seats at a shopping center in Queens for her kickoff event. “If anybody is running, they really better get used to that color, pink and green,” state Sen. James Sanders said from the stage.

Entering the race millions of dollars behind her competitors, lacking the name recognition of Cuomo and others running and sharing a last name — though no relation — to embattled incumbent Eric Adams, Adrienne Adams is hoping this loyal group of more than 2 million Black men and women nationwide will be eager to help elect the first woman as mayor of New York City.

Her first week of fundraising demonstrates she needs the boost.

Her campaign is reporting having raised $128,000 in less than a week — an impressive total that is nonetheless unlikely to shake up the race as it does not make her eligible for public matching funds that are all but essential to run a successful mayoral campaign. Adrienne Adams’ next opportunity to qualify for those funds is May 30, just a few weeks before the primary.

Helping Adrienne Adams fundraise is Hasoni Pratts, a fellow Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority sister volunteering for the campaign. A New York power player, Pratts is a founder of the Higher Heights for America PAC that supports Black women running for office.

“They were hugely impactful, especially those AKAs. They showed up for sure," Pratts said of the Divine Nine's early involvement in the mayoral campaign. "They were sending texts around to all of their sorors, saying we’ve got to help her.”

Born and raised in the predominantly Black, Democratic-vote-rich area of Southeast Queens, Adrienne Adams attended Spelman College, a historical Black school in Atlanta. Four decades later, on the cusp of leaving public office after getting elected twice as council speaker, she decided to run for mayor — kicking off her bid on March 8, months after most of her competitors had begun theirs. She’s presenting herself as a humble, drama-free alternative to the scandal-scarred Eric Adams and Cuomo — but one who faces humbling, dramatic challenges of her own.

In addition to the $128,000 raised, she entered the race with just over $200,000 on hand she transferred from a separate account. Leading challengers to Eric Adams have more than 20 times that amount, having already qualified for the city’s 8-to-1 matching funds program. City Comptroller Brad Lander led the field with $3.9 million on hand as of last month. Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, former Comptroller Scott Stringer and Eric Adams all had more than $3 million in their accounts, and state Sen. Zellnor Myrie reported having nearly $2.5 million.

Cuomo also kicked off his campaign late and with no money, but unlike Adrienne Adams, he has the benefit of near-universal name recognition and a PAC run by a longtime ally that brought in nearly $300,000 in one week.

Despite the delay, a person close to Adrienne Adams’ campaign who was granted anonymity to discuss internal strategy said she is considering various options to stay competitive with the rest of the field. That could include getting vendors to agree on delayed payments, or even taking a bank loan that could be paid off by public funds — both risky courses if she doesn't end up unlocking matching funds.

Adrienne Adams isn’t only relying on the Divine Nine — as council speaker until the end of 2025, she has power over legislation, land use decisions and negotiating the city’s $115 billion budget, so interested parties are likely to donate to her, the person close to Adams’ campaign said.

One New York City real estate executive, who was granted anonymity to discuss private conversations, said they received a call this month from Attorney General Letitia James, who spoke in support of Adrienne Adams though did not ask for a donation. The person surmised that tactic could hasten the council speaker’s fundraising momentum.

But for now, the Divine Nine — a network mayoral candidate Michael Blake belongs to and has also tried to tap into — remains critical to Adrienne Adams’ strategy, even as prior New York City mayoral candidates with similar connections, like Maya Wiley in 2021, failed in their bids.

Adrienne Adams’ supporters, however, are feeling good, and say everyone is talking about the new candidate.

“The word is definitely spreading like wildfire, not even just amongst AKAs, but the D9 in general,” said Nupol Kiazolu, a 24-year-old AKA from Brownsville, Brooklyn who came to Adams’ kickoff rally. “I just got a phone call, and I pulled up.”