The head of New York's Democratic Party is asking state officials to stop public funds from flowing to Bruce Blakeman's governor's race, arguing his campaign finance reports can't be trusted, according to Newsday.
State Democratic Chair Jay Jacobs filed the complaint Wednesday with the Public Campaign Finance Board. He cited thousands of entries Newsday found in which one donor appears to be credited with the same gift more than once in a single day. Those entries add up to more than $460,000, versus roughly $168,000 if each donor were counted a single time.
"Unless the filings are corrected and verified, the public cannot have confidence that a single additional taxpayer dollar is being paid out lawfully," Jacobs wrote.
He asked the board to hold all further payments until every past and pending claim is verified, and called on the Board of Elections' enforcement unit to investigate.
Blakeman's campaign characterized the complaint as another Democratic attempt to block him from the state's public matching program. He had been shut out of it earlier this year over a paperwork problem before a court sided with him. Spokeswoman Madison Spanodemos said the Board of Elections required the campaign to submit its report in pieces, which she said made some contributions show up multiple times, and promised a corrected filing. She also accused Gov. Kathy Hochul of trying again to cut off the funds.
Blakeman's latest report shows he holds $178,000 after spending more than $10.4 million. On Monday, the campaign received another $1.1 million in matching funds, putting it at the $3.5 million maximum for gubernatorial candidates. The program pays six dollars for every dollar of donations between $5 and $250. Hochul, who is not participating, reported $18.5 million in cash.
Last month, New York Focus reported that the campaign illegally sought matching funds for donations from out of state or above the contribution cap.
It's the latest in a saga of multiple campaign finance scandals plaguing Republicans around the country. Colorado GOP gubernatorial nominee Victor Marx has landed in hot water for allegedly trying to run his merchandise operation through a shell company to get around contribution limits.