(The Center Square) — A New York judge has cleared a path for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman to get up to $3.5 million in matching public funds for his bid to unseat incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul in the fall elections.
The ruling, issued Tuesday by a state Supreme Court justice, vacates a March decision by the New York Public Campaign Finance Board blocking the Nassau County Executive from participating in the program, which matches the first $250 of contributions to their campaigns by a 6-to-1 margin with public funds. The court gave Blakeman a week to formally re-submit his application for public financing.
The five-member board, which includes two Republicans, voted in March along party lines to turn down Blakeman’s request for public funds after ruling his application was “deficient” because he didn’t list his running mate, Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood, and file required paperwork to request funding. Blakeman reported $1.6 million cash on hand and asked the board to approve matching funds for $1.4 million.
Blakeman’s campaign filed a lawsuit asking a Supreme Court judge to overturn the board’s decision and restore public funding. His lawyers argued that the board exceeded its authority when it voted along party lines to kick him out of the program.
Under the city’s public financing program, candidates for governor must raise at least $500,000 from 5,000 New York-based donors who give $1,050 or less. The maximum payout for a candidate is $3.5 million for both the primary and general elections.
Hochul, who reported more than $21.2 million in her campaign account as of mid-January, has declined to participate in the matching public funds program.
Republicans blasted the board’s rejection of funding for Blakeman, accusing Democrats of conspiring with Hochul’s re-election campaign to deprive the GOP challenger of access to public financing he needs to remain competitive in the race.
New York State Assembly Minority Leader Ed Ra called Tuesday’s ruling a “victory for fairness and election integrity” and reiterated claims that the Democratic-controlled board’s decision was politically motivated.
“This entire matter should never have been in question to begin with,” he said in a statement. “The Public Campaign Finance Board’s decision — along party lines — to remove the Republican gubernatorial candidate from the program was clearly politically motivated. I’m glad the court demonstrated the independence that the PCFB’s Democratic commissioners couldn’t find.”
