Overview
- Blakeman, who filed in Albany County on Wednesday, asks a judge to undo his disqualification and to order a joint filing form for governor–lieutenant governor tickets.
- The Public Campaign Finance Board voted 4–3 on March 31 to find him ineligible because running mate Todd Hood did not apply with him under a 2025 law linking the ticket, and chair Barbara Lifton says the rules left no leeway.
- His suit accuses the board’s Democrats of bad faith and cites Feb. 6 guidance that staff could merge separate filings, and watchdogs argued campaigns should have been allowed to fix the error.
- If the decision stands, he would forgo up to $3.5 million for the general election after no Republican qualified for a primary, which would deepen his cash gap with Gov. Kathy Hochul.
- New York’s system matches the first $250 of small donations at 6‑to‑1 for candidates who raise $500,000 from 5,000 in‑state donors, and Hochul is not in the program and reports about $20 million in cash.