Blakeman Campaign Claims $11M Haul
By Hank Russell
Governor Kathy Hochul announced that $17 million has been raised in the July 2026 filing period in her race for governor. This total includes $5.6 million going into her re-election campaign, Friends for Kathy Hochul, from 27,000 unique donors, and $11.4 million into the New York State Democratic Party.
The cash on hand raised by the governor to build and support her campaign and the New York State Democratic Party includes a total of $42 million. According to Hochul, Friends for Kathy Hochul will end the filing period with more than $20 million cash on hand, and the New York State Democratic Party will end the filing period with more than $22 million cash on hand.
Since winning re-election in 2022, Hochul has raised a total of over $71 million for her re-election campaign.
For the third filing period in a row, Hochul has earned grassroots donations from New Yorkers in all 62 counties. A majority of her contributions came from New York State.
“New Yorkers in all 62 counties of our state contributed to our movement for a safer, more affordable future,” Hochul posted on social media. I’m so grateful to have you in this fight with me. Thank you.”
“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 Friends for Kathy Hochul Campaign Manager Preston Elliott. “The governor’s historic investment in building a strong coordinated campaign means we will not only send [Nassau County Executive and GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce] Blakeman packing a sixth time this November, but also help Democrats take back the House and flip local offices across the Empire State.”
Long Island Life & Politics reached out to Blakeman’s campaign for fundraising data and comment. LILP also searched the state’s Board of Elections website, but a notice appeared stating that no candidate or committee disclosure reports were found within the selected search criteria.
Madison Spanodemos, Blakeman’s campaign spokesperson, said the county executive has raised $11 million “to fire Kathy Hochul” and is filing an amended report “to accurately reflect the millions more collected to support Blakeman’s campaign.”
“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,” Spanodemos said.