A state Supreme Court judge ruled that Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman should be allowed to participate in New York’s public campaign matching funds program in his race for governor, reversing a decision that had threatened to deny his campaign millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded support, on Tuesday, May 12.
In a 21-page decision, Justice Denise A. Hartman said the state Public Campaign Finance Board failed to provide Blakeman’s campaign notice that its application was considered incomplete because his lieutenant governor candidate, Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood, had not separately enrolled in the program.
Hartman concluded the board’s decision to remove Blakeman from the program was “arbitrary and capricious,” a legal standard used when a court finds a government agency acted without a rational basis. The ruling ordered the campaign restored to the matching funds system for the 2026 gubernatorial race.
Blakeman, the Republican nominee for governor, is seeking to unseat Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul in the 2026 election.
The board’s decision had blocked Blakeman from receiving up to $3.5 million in public campaign funds at a time when Hochul holds a significant fundraising advantage. According to the latest campaign finance records, Hochul has nearly $20 million more cash on hand than Blakeman.
Blakeman hailed the decision as a victory against what he characterized as political interference.
“Attempts to rig the system and cheat my campaign out of matching funds was sharply rebuked by Justice Denise A. Hartman, who laid out a well-reasoned opinion based on the facts and the law,” Blakeman said in a statement. “Nothing will stop us in our mission to save New Yorkers from high taxes, out-of-control utility rates, and increasing crime.”
Blakeman filed for the state’s matching funds program in December, shortly after announcing his gubernatorial campaign, before selecting a running mate. The campaign later received notice from the board that it had been certified for the program, and Blakeman completed the required training in January.
During oral arguments earlier this month, attorneys representing the Public Campaign Finance Board acknowledged that the agency had never created a form for both candidates on a gubernatorial ticket to jointly apply for the program.
Blakeman sued the board in April after it voted 4-3 along party lines to remove his campaign from the matching funds system. The public financing program is being used for gubernatorial races for the first time in 2026.
Source: LI Press
