(The Center Square) — New York Democrats have denied Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman access to the state’s public financing system in a move that could cripple his campaign.
The New York Campaign Finance Board, which is controlled by Democrats, ruled Tuesday that the Nassau County Executive may not participate in the state’s matching funds program as he campaigns for the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul in the Nov. 3 elections.
The five-member board, which includes two Republicans, voted along party lines to turn down Blakeman’s request for $7 million in public funds after ruling that his application was “deficient” because Blakeman didn’t list his running mate, Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood. The board also rejected public campaign funds for five minor-party candidates.
Republicans blasted the move, accusing Democrats of conspiring with Hochul’s re-election campaign to deprive Blakeman of access to public financing he needs to remain competitive in the race.
“Kathy Hochul and Democrats are drunk on power and rigging our elections,” New York Republican Party chairman Ed Cox said in a statement. “The self-styled ‘defenders of democracy’ tried to rig our elections with their illegal gerrymander in 2022, they tried to rig our elections by corrupting our courts with partisan judges, and they are trying to rig our elections now by using the flimsiest pretense to deny the Republican candidate for governor public campaign funding.”
“Republicans have been warning about the corruptibility of public campaign finance for years, and now New Yorkers are seeing exactly how Democrats will weaponize the system to protect their own power and silence their opposition,” Cox added.
Blakeman’s campaign, which is expected to challenge the ruling, also ripped the board’s decision saying it “reeks of corruption” with the latest polls showing a tightening race for governor.
“With the race tightening and her poll numbers sagging, it’s no surprise Kathy Hochul’s handpicked appointee would vote to take away funds from Bruce Blakeman’s campaign,” Blakeman spokesperson Madison Spanodemos said in a statement.
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 first $250 of those contributions is matched 6-to-1 by taxpayers. The maximum payout for a candidate is $3.5 million for both the primary and general elections.
Blakeman reported $1.6 million cash on hand earlier this month and has asked the board to approve matching funds for $1.4 million.
Blakeman, 70, is making his first run for governor with President Donald Trump’s endorsement. He accepted the party’s nomination in February at a three-day GOP convention on Long Island. The GOP ticket is hoping to win back the governor’s office for Republicans for the first time in more than two decades.
He has focused on Hochul’s pro-immigration policies, crime, and support for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s leftist agenda. Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, is urging the governor to support his plan to increase taxes on the city’s wealthiest and corporations.
Hochul, 67, is seeking re-election to a second full term with her running mate, former New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. Her campaign has criticized Blakeman as a “MAGA fan-boy” and a “bootlicker” who “has lost just about every race he’s touched — county legislator, comptroller, Congress, even U.S. Senate.”
A Siena College survey, released Tuesday, shows Hochul leading Blakeman 47% to 34%, which is down slightly from Hochul’s 20-point lead in February, pollsters found.
