Gov. Kathy Hochul and her GOP challenger Bruce Blakeman are taking advantage of a quirk in state law that allows them to take millions of dollars from their Democratic and Republican parties, bypassing caps on individual campaign contributions.
State disclosure records show the New York State Democratic Committee — which Hochul controls — transferred $10 million to the governor’s campaign account late last month, which gave the Democrat a major boost ahead of a key fundraising deadline. Blakeman’s campaign, meanwhile, has received about $3.5 million from the Nassau County GOP, his home county.
Under state law,individual donors can contribute up to $9,000 to a candidate for governor in the general election. But that limit is far higher — $138,600 — when giving to a party committee. And there’s nothing in the law stopping party committees from transferring the money they raise to individual candidates.
That cleared the way for the Democratic Committee and the Nassau GOP to send money directly to Hochul and Blakeman’s campaigns, respectively, despite receiving contributions that well exceed the gubernatorial limit that state policymakers put into place in hopes of lessening the influence on money in politics.
The “loophole” basically renders the lower contribution limits moot, said Blair Horner, senior policy adviser for the New York Public Interest Research Group.
“[State parties] can transfer as much as they want to the candidate of their choice,” Horner said. “It essentially makes a mockery of all of the campaign contribution limits that exist under the law.”
Both parties have taken advantage of the law over the years, either by transferring money to a candidate or spending it on their behalf.
But the $10 million transfer is on a scale not seen in 12 years, when the Democratic Party spent more than $13 million on then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s re-election campaign. And it comes after the state dramatically lowered many of its campaign contribution limits for the current election cycle — though not for party committees.
Four years ago, Hochul was able to raise $69,700 per donor. Now, it’s $9,000 for the general election and $9,000 for a primary election.
State lawmakers enacted the lower limit as part of a public matching funds program that took effect this cycle, which matches donations of up to $250 at a 6-to-1 rate in hopes of encouraging candidates to avoid relying on big-money donors. (Blakeman is participating in the program. Hochul did not opt in.)
Hochul has taken credit for raising much of the money for the Democratic Committee, much of which has gone toward building up what she calls a “coordinated campaign” to help elect congressional and local candidates down the ballot along with her own race. Even after the transfer to her campaign, the party still had about $15 million in its coffers to spend on other races.
Blakeman, meanwhile, has also raised money for the Nassau GOP. He has generally encouraged voters to give to his campaign to take advantage of the public matching funds.
In an interview with Gothamist, state Democratic Chair Jay Jacobs said he doesn’t see the transfer as a way of getting around contribution limits. The donors, he said, know what their money is going to support.
“I just see it as a different methodology for funding campaigns,” he said. “And I think that the benefit is, of course, at least when people donate, they know they're donating to a party that will be supporting the candidates of that party.”
The $10 million transfer helped leave Hochul’s campaign with about $19 million for the final month of the campaign, far more than Blakeman’s $177,000. Blakeman is also set to receive another roughly $1 million in matching funds. The campaigns have spent about $10 million each since July.
In a statement, Blakeman campaign spokesperson Madison Spanodemos noted Blakeman’s campaign raised more money than Hochul’s campaign since July, though that doesn’t account for the money Hochul raised for (and received from) the Democratic Committee.
Hochul campaign manager Preston Elliott said Hochul’s cash on hand leaves her with “unprecedented firepower” heading into November.
Horner’s group, meanwhile, issued a report Monday that examined several years' worth of contributions to party committees.
The report concluded the law should be changed to lower contribution limits to party committees and restrict the amount of money they can give to individual candidates.
“I mean, we have the crazy idea of thinking that a $138,000 campaign contribution should not be allowed in New York, that the limit should be much lower,” Horner said.
The group also takes issue with a state law allowing unlimited contributions to a party’s housekeeping account, which is supposed to be limited to paying for things that aren’t directly related to an election, like office space and administrative staffing.
Jacobs said Horner’s proposals are “a fabulous idea” — so long as super PACs and other independent political groups, which aren’t subject to any fundraising limits, are similarly reined in.
“Until then, I think we need to be able to defend ourselves from attacks by these independent expenditure groups,” Jacobs said. “You can't take one piece of the puzzle and not look at the rest of it.”
So far, pro-Blakeman super PACs have spent about $2 million on the general election race, with much of that coming from a group largely funded by entities controlled by New York Knicks owner James Dolan, according to state Board of Elections records.
Pro-Hochul super PACs have spent about $3.3 million on the race, which includes a$1 million ad campaign from a group funded by Uber, the ride-hailing company.
