Paul Massey Ends GOP Campaign for NYC Mayor

Paul Massey, president of New York investment sales for real-estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield Inc., ended his run for New York mayor on Wednesday, citing the high expenses associated with trying to unseat Bill de Blasio.

“Unfortunately, the cost of running for office is extraordinary, and I do not see a path to raising the necessary funds to beat an incumbent mayor,” Massey said in a statement emailed by his campaign staff. “I am forever indebted to my family, team and my friends for their support.”

Massey, who was running as a Republican, announced his candidacy last August, touting his knowledge of the city from a long history in the real estate industry. He said he would opt out of the city’s public campaign-finance system. He had received financial support from members of Manhattan’s real estate and development community. He also had personally loaned his campaign $2.72 million.

In all, Massey collected $5.75 million in his primary bid to unseat de Blasio, a Democrat, and spent nearly all of it, largely on campaign consultants. Massey had about $608,000 left on hand as of mid-May.

Massey came to realize he didn’t have the funding needed to compete, campaign spokeswoman Mollie Fullington said.

“He was looking ahead at the trajectory for fundraising, and he’s a businessman — he made a business decision,” she said. “He’s invested a good deal of money into the campaign, and you make a decision at some point: ‘Am I going to put more money into this?’“

Massey left the race hours after attending a Republican mayoral debate Wednesday morning at the Yale Club with Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, who’s also seeking the party’s nomination. “It was the right thing to do to attend the forum,” Fullington said. “We committed to attend.”