Gov. Kathy Hochul is a diehard Buffalo Bills fan who used her influence to steer state tax dollars toward a new stadium. Now, the NFL team’s owners are some of the biggest champions of her re-election effort.
Big checks from Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula were among new details in campaign finance reports filed this week with the state Board of Elections. The filings show that Hochul built a significant cash advantage over her Republican rival, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, as they head into the final months of the campaign.
The Blakeman campaign reported $4.6 million on hand as of the start of July. Hochul’s campaign reported $21 million on hand at the same time, filings show.
Pegula cut two checks for the governor in January: one for $138,600 to the Democratic State Committee and another for $18,000 to the governor’s campaign account. Kim Pegula, his spouse and co-owner of the team, also contributed $18,000 to Hochul’s campaign.
They are the first political contributions to Hochul from the Pegulas since she steered a $600 million state appropriation in 2022 to help pay for a new stadium for the football team. The Buffalo-born governor attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the stadium last month.
“I had to deliver this stadium for Western New York,” Hochul said at the event. “There was a lot of people who said no. They just said, ‘No, we're not putting that money there.’ And if we had not been able to secure that support, [the Bills] literally would've gone elsewhere.”
A Bills spokesperson didn’t return an email seeking comment and Terry Pegula couldn’t be reached by phone. At the ribbon cutting, Pegula thanked Hochul and said, “ I don't know if we'd be here today without Kathy's support, so I really appreciate that.”
Terry Pegula was one of 16 individuals who gave the maximum to the Democratic State Committee — which has a much higher contribution limit than the governor’s personal campaign committee — since Blakeman declared his candidacy. Hochul’s campaign says the governor is raising money for both committees.
Other major donors to the committees include Melinda French Gates, a landlord group called the New York Apartment Association, labor unions representing hotel and construction workers as well as real estate developers, hedge fund moguls and their spouses.
New York Public Interest Research Group senior adviser Blair Horner, a longtime government watchdog, said Hochul is raking in cash because she’s an incumbent — and the double-digit front-runner in public polls.
“Money follows power,” Horner said. “And those with business before the government are willing to write the biggest checks they can in the hopes of getting favors returned.”
Hochul spokesperson Kara Cumoletti said campaign donations have no influence on the governor's decisions, and that “the only thing that drives the governor’s decisions is what’s best for New Yorkers.”
Hochul’s campaign committee has brought in $5.8 million since January. The Democratic State Committee, which is running a coordinated campaign to support Hochul’s re-election and Democrats running for Congress, reported raising $11.4 million across two accounts, filings show.
“Our movement is big and getting bigger,” Hochul Campaign Manager Preston Elliott said in a statement. “The governor’s historic investment in building a strong coordinated campaign means we will not only send Blakeman packing a sixth time this November, but also help Democrats take back the House and flip local offices across the Empire State.”
Blakeman’s campaign has brought in $7.4 million since the day after he was re-elected as county executive last year, campaign filings show. Of that, $3 million came from his old county-level campaign committee or the Nassau County Republican Committee — his single-largest contributor.
Blakeman overcame Democratic objections to access the state’s public campaign financing program in which small donations are maxed with taxpayer funds. His campaign reported receiving almost $770,000 in public funds out of a possible total of $3.5 million.
Hochul’s campaign chose not to participate in the public financing system.
Blakeman’s campaign said its filings don’t fully reflect the campaign’s fundraising activity.
“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,” said campaign spokesperson Madison Spanodemos. “Blakeman for New York is filing an amended report to accurately reflect the millions more collected to support Blakeman’s campaign.”
