Democratic donors line up behind New York lieutenant governor

New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin has been quietly amassing a group of influential big-money donors as he prepares for a potential primary battle for his seat.

Benjamin, who was a state senator before being chosen by Gov. Kathy Hochul in August to be the state’s lieutenant governor, began as recently as last week meeting with wealthy donors to start building his campaign war chest, according to people familiar with the matter. Some of the people declined to be named in order to speak freely about the ongoing private fundraising efforts.

Benjamin is up for reelection in 2022 and will likely face a primary fight for his seat, including a possible campaign by state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi.

Benjamin took part in a kickoff campaign fundraising event on Nov. 9 at the home of longtime New York businessman Dennis Mehiel, some of the people said. Multiple other fundraising events are set to take place in the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the effort.

Supporters say they are backing Benjamin because he is a key partner to Gov. Hochul and for his potential to run for governor himself in the future, among other reasons.

Hochul herself is in the middle of a Democratic primary for her seat, with New York Attorney General Letitia James recently announcing a run for governor.

Benjamin is a moderate Democrat with ties to the New York business community through his prior work at Morgan Stanley. He was on former President Barack Obama’s national finance committee and later helped Vice President Kamala Harris during her 2020 run for president. As a state senator, Benjamin advocated for criminal justice reform and affordable housing.

Hochul said in her press conference introducing Benjamin that he will be “someone who will be out there championing our policies and our administration’s agenda in every corner of the state with a real focus on New York City, because New York City needs our help.”

Some of the biggest Democratic donors and power players in the state were at the early November event, including Mike Kempner, the CEO of public relations giant MikeWorldWide; Jon Henes, the CEO of corporate advisory firm C Street Advisory Group; Melissa Prober, who is Benjamin’s campaign finance chair and currently general counsel at Henes’ firm; and Brian Mathis, a Wall Street veteran and founder of Pine Street Alternative Asset Management. A list of attendees was provided to CNBC.

Other business leaders on the attendee list include real estate executive Will Blodgett and Bruce Teitelbaum. Laurie Tisch, a co-owner of the New York Giants, is also on the roster as an attendee.

The event ended up raising over $200,000, more than doubling their original goal of bringing in $100,000 for Benjamin’s campaign,…