NEW YORK CITY — "Girls Who Code" founder Reshma Saujani is outpacing the competition in the race to replace Public Advocate Bill de Blasio.
The former Deputy Public Advocate, who lost a 2010 primary challenge to East Side Rep. Carolyn Maloney, raised $223,000 during the latest fundraising haul — about $40,000 more than her closest rival.
After spending $184,000 since formally launching the campaign, Saujani now has $798,497 left in her campaign coffers, a campaign spokeswoman said.
"I'm humbled by the continuing support of New Yorkers and the growing momentum of our campaign to become the next Public Advocate," Saujani said in a statement. "We are building the strongest grassroots organization because thousands of New Yorkers continue to contribute their resources, time, and energy to building this movement."
State Sen. Daniel Squadron, meanwhile, trailed during the latest period, with $183,000 raised over the past two months from 1,877 contributors, his campaign said.
Nonetheless, he remains the money leader in the race, with more than $1 million raised so far, and more than $1.96 million cash-on-hand, when public matching funds are included, according to the campaign.
"I'm incredibly honored by the support we’ve received from all five boroughs, and I'm excited that our grassroots campaign will have the resources we need to build our effort across the city," Squadron said in a statement announcing the tally Wednesday.
Also in the race are City Councilwoman Letitia James, who was recently endorsed by Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, and professor Cathy Guerriero.
James added $201,366 to her campaign coffers during the previous fundraising period, which ran from July, 2012 through Jan. 11, 2013, and had $215,151 cash-on-hand as of then.
Guerriero raised $85,581 during that time, but also spent nearly $50,000, leaving her with less than $40,000 remaining.
