Blakeman's matching funds in question as Democrats challenge eligibility

ALBANY — Republican Bruce Blakeman is at risk of losing access to the state’s public campaign financing program, a key lifeline in his attempt to unseat Gov. Kathy Hochul.

At issue is whether Blakeman, the current Nassau County executive, will be disqualified from receiving potentially millions of dollars in public matching funds to close the wide fundraising deficit he faces against Hochul, a Democrat. Without public matching funds, Blakeman could remain $20 million behind Hochul in the political money chase.

In a fight playing out under the radar, Democratic members of the board that certifies and pays candidates are saying Blakeman and his running mate, Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood, filed incorrect paperwork to qualify for the matching funds program, which is available to gubernatorial candidates for the first time in 2026.

They say Blakeman should be disqualified from the program.

A key element is a new state law, signed in 2025, that ended separate primaries for governor and lieutenant governor, requiring them to run on a single ticket. As such, they also should have filed a "joint certification" application to the Public Campaign Finance Board. The board received an application only from Blakeman.

"The law requires an application from both the governor and lt. governor candidates to be eligible to receive public matching funds," Brian Keegan, the Democratic co-director of the PCFB, told Newsday.

"At this time, no PCFB filing has been received from a lt. governor candidate associated with the Blakeman campaign by the applicable deadline. As a result, he is not eligible for the program," Keegan said.

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.

Carl Zeilman, the Republican co-director of the PCFB, said Democrats are attempting a "bait-and-switch."

"The campaign has met the requirements to be certified in the program," Zeilman said. "Provided that his campaign meets eligibility thresholds and adheres to all program requirements, he should receive public matching funds."

Brian Kolb, another Republican on the board, said the board staff never produced the alternate filing form it now says Blakeman failed to file. He said Democrats essentially are finding flaws after initially determining "everything was proper" in Blakeman’s certification.

"This is a partisan attempt to essentially eliminate all opposition to the governor from the public matching funds program," Kolb said.

The seven-member board hasn’t scheduled a meeting to hash out the issue, but Republicans expect it soon. The board is slated to make cash disbursement announcements by mid-April.

Further, the GOP is worried about the outcome because Dems outnumber them on the board, 4-3. A Republican attorney who asked not to be named because the issue isn’t settled said litigation is assured if Blakeman is disqualified.

Blakeman’s campaign submitted $1.4 million in expenses to the state Board of Elections on March 16 that it believes qualifies for matching funds under 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.

Hochul previously said she is not participating in the program. She had $20 million on hand, according to her last campaign finance report.