Republican New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman is facing questions over around $360,000 in political donations that appear to exceed the legal limit, with his campaign yet to issue refunds.
Individuals may give candidates up to $9,000 for each election. Because Mr Blakeman did not face a primary contest, he is required to return contributions above that threshold.
At least 40 donations exceeding the limit were reported after the state Board of Elections certified the primary ballot on 13 May, according to campaign disclosure filings. Several were made well after the primary had passed.
Among the contributions was a $15,000 donation in the spring from an Eric Sternberg using a Nassau County post office box. A donor with the same name, using a nearby home address, gave $18,000 on 19 August, followed by three further payments of $5,000 reported on 10 September.
Other donors breached the cap through multiple payments. Nan Hayworth, a former Republican representative, gave $5,205.08 on 22 May and the same amount on 31 July, taking her total for the election cycle to $10,410.16.
The unusual sums appear to be linked to the Blakeman campaign’s online donation process, which asks contributors to make an additional payment to cover processing fees. A person giving $5,000 is prompted to add $205.08.
Someone attempting to donate $9,000 is instead shown a suggested contribution of $9,369.14. That exact sum has been paid 22 times, including by Anthony Scaramucci, a Nassau resident and former Trump administration official.
Ben Kallos, a Democratic campaign finance lawyer, said campaigns normally absorb processing costs rather than passing them to donors.
“I admire the creativity of trying to have donors eat those costs, but you can’t go over the limit,” he said.
The campaign was asked about the refunds on Monday but did not address the issue in its response the following day. Madison Spanodemos, a spokesperson, said the volume of donations had caused problems with the state’s filing system.
“So many New Yorkers opened their wallets to support Bruce Blakeman that the state’s antiquated campaign finance system couldn’t keep up,” she said. Ms Spanodemos added that the Board of Elections had required the campaign to split its latest financial report into multiple files, causing some contributions to appear more than once.
Brian Keegan, the Democratic co-director of the Public Campaign Finance Board, rejected that explanation.
“Mr. Blakeman’s campaign is the only filer that experienced this issue,” he said. “This is a user error, not a system error.”
Ms Spanodemos did not answer questions about the large donations or the campaign’s actual financial position. Removing every potential duplicate from the filing would reduce its reported contributions by $292,000, leaving the campaign with a $114,000 deficit before the refunds are taken into account.
The campaign’s reported cash position has also shifted sharply between filings. A report submitted on 15 July said it had $4.7 million in the bank. An amended version filed a week later put the figure at $6.1 million, while a further amendment on 13 August said the mid-July balance had actually been $4.3 million.
Governor Kathy Hochul’s campaign has sought to make the issue part of the contest. Her committee has also received some contributions above the legal limit, but has returned the excess, including $1,000 refunded after the New York State Council of Machinists gave $10,000 on 15 September.
Jay Jacobs, chair of the state Democratic Committee, said Mr Blakeman’s contributions were unlawful.
“He’s desperate for money, and desperate people do desperate things,” Mr Jacobs said. “And I think to him, it’s more important he try to get elected than comply with the law.”
