Key election board to vote Tuesday on matching funds for Blakeman

ALBANY — It will be a pivotal moment for Republican Bruce Blakeman’s gubernatorial run when a state board votes Tuesday on whether he should be disqualified from a campaign matching funds program.

The state’s Public Campaign Finance Board has slated a 10 a.m. meeting in Albany to weigh a staff recommendation that Blakeman isn’t eligible to receive millions of dollars in matching funds because of a fatal filing error, a development first reported by Newsday.

Blakeman, the current Nassau County executive, trails Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul by about $20 million in the money chase and the matching funds could prove crucial to his campaign, not only giving him more money but also encouraging deep-pocketed Republican donors to give.

Democrats on the board say Blakeman filed an application just for himself when he should have filed for "joint certification" covering him and his lieutenant governor running mate, Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood. They say Republican lawyers on the board knew of the issue by early February and Blakeman missed the Feb. 23 deadline to correct the error.

"At this time, no PCFB filing has been received from a lieutenant governor candidate associated with the Blakeman campaign by the applicable deadline. As a result, he is not eligible for the program," Brian Keegan, the Democratic co-director of the finance board, told Newsday earlier this month.

Republican officials contend Democrats are using a bureaucratic fine line to try to cripple Blakeman. They say Blakeman filed for program certification in December and should be able to amend his filing to list Hood.

"This is a partisan attempt to essentially eliminate all opposition to the governor from the public matching funds program," Brian Kolb, a board member and former state assemblyman, said.

Importantly, the board has four Democrats and three Republicans and a party-line vote could sink Blakeman. If that is what happens, Republicans have said a lawsuit is assured.

Hochul, sitting on a huge financial advantage, didn’t apply for matching funds.

The matching funds program was created by Hochul and the Democrat-led State Legislature in 2023 and took effect for legislative and other candidates in 2024. This year is the first time statewide candidates, such as those seeking to become governor, can apply.

Bipartisan interest among candidates has been high, even among Republicans who opposed the creation of the program.

To qualify, any candidate for governor must raise a total of $500,000 from at least 5,000 state residents who give $1,050 or less. The first $250 of those contributions are matched six to one by taxpayers, for a maximum payout of $3.5 million. 

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy