New York Governor’s Race This Week is a weekly column by USA TODAY Network-New York reporters highlighting aspects of the 2026 campaign to lead the Empire State.
While New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s campaign touted a “record” number of unique donors earlier this week, discrepancies in how much money her Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman has brought in are raising questions.
According to Hochul’s campaign, the governor received $5.6 million from 27,000 unique donors since January. July’s periodic campaign financing report filed on Wednesday, July 15, however, reveals the direct contribution number to be slightly higher – more than $5.7 million.
And Wednesday’s periodic report confirms her campaign’s announcement that Hochul has more than $20 million on hand; the total reported amount is just over $21 million.
“Our movement is big and getting bigger – with more than five times the number of unique donors than this time last cycle, an average online donation of $20, and our third filing in a row with grassroots donations from all 62 counties,” said Preston Elliott, Friends for Kathy Hochul campaign manager.
“The governor’s historic investment in building a strong coordinated campaign means we will not only send Blakeman packing a sixth time this November, but also help Democrats take back the House and flip local offices across the Empire State,” Elliott said.
Blakeman’s campaign shares conflicting campaign funding totals
Nassau County Executive Blakeman is standing on murkier ground when it comes to campaign finances. According to his campaign’s July periodic report filed on Wednesday, Blakeman has raised just over $3 million since his March filing, bringing him to nearly $4.6 million on hand.
And while it includes nearly $1 million from the Nassau County and Suffolk County Republican committees, this number is significantly lower than the $11 million amount his campaign shared with the New York Post earlier this week, as first reported by City & State.
When asked about the funding amount discrepancy on Thursday, July 16, Blakeman’s campaign said an amended filing would be posted “shortly.” As of 3 p.m. Thursday, one was not available on the state Board of Elections’ Public Reporting System.
Blakeman has received almost $770,000 from the state’s Public Campaign Finance Program and qualified for an additional $1.2 million as of June 30, but his campaign has yet to report the latter amount. It’s been a point of contention as the state’s Public Campaign Finance Board initially denied Blakeman access to the matching funds in March due to a paperwork error.
Two months later, after a back-and-forth court battle, a New York appeals court unanimously affirmed the Republican gubernatorial candidate’s eligibility for the program if he fixed the error within two weeks.
“Kathy Hochul’s illegal attempt to block Bruce Blakeman from receiving public matching funds created reporting complications that are now being corrected, along with other issues caused by the state’s antiquated campaign finance reporting system,” Blakeman campaign spokesperson Madison Spanodemos said on Thursday afternoon.
“Blakeman for New York is filing an amended report to accurately reflect the millions more collected to support Blakeman’s campaign, which has raised more than $11 million to fire Kathy Hochul,” the statement added.
Hochul orders one-year data center ban in NY; New York’s population is changing dramatically
Here are some additional topics related to the governor’s race that the USA TODAY Network-New York has reported on this week:
Emily Barnes covers state government for the USA TODAY Network-New York with a focus on how policy and laws impact New Yorkers’ taxes, communities and jobs. Follow her on Instagram or X @byemilybarnes. Get in touch at ebarnes@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Who leads NY governor funding race – Kathy Hochul or Bruce Blakeman?
Reporting by Emily Barnes, New York State Team / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Emily Barnes, New York State Team | USA TODAY Network
