GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Paid Millions to Firm Behind Far-Right German Party Ads
Bruce Blakeman's campaign also funneled funds to a firm founded by a convicted fraudster.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman has paid more than $4.2 million to Harris Media, an advertising agency that previously ran ad campaigns for Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Blakeman, who is Jewish, also allocated over $11,600 in campaign funds to Better Mousetrap Digital, a fundraising firm founded by Jack Daly, who was convicted of mail fraud and lying to the Federal Election Commission.
Filings with the New York State Board of Elections show Blakeman's campaign spent the $4.2 million on online ads through Harris Media. DER SPIEGEL reported that Harris Media was responsible for the AfD's 2017 federal ad campaign, which included portraying then-Chancellor Angela Merkel in a negative light. One Harris Media employee reportedly pitched the slogan 'Germany for Germans' to the AfD, a suggestion that was rejected by a party staffer as too nationalistic. The agency has also worked for UKIP in Britain and Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party in Israel, as well as U.S. clients including Senator Ted Cruz and Sarah Palin.
Better Mousetrap Digital received its payments, split into nearly 800 installments, between April and October 2026 for fundraising services. The firm's founder, Jack Daly, was sentenced in 2023 to four months in prison and two years of supervised release. His conviction stemmed from a scam political action committee (PAC) that raised over $1.6 million by falsely suggesting a Wisconsin sheriff might run for the U.S. Senate. Prosecutors stated that Daly targeted vulnerable victims, including an individual with Alzheimer's and elderly veterans. Daly pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit mail fraud and lying to the FEC. His supervised release concluded in June.
Blakeman's campaign headquarters did not immediately respond to requests for comment. New York State Democratic Party spokesperson Addison Dick criticized Blakeman's campaign spending, stating, 'Bruce Blakeman paying millions to these people to craft his campaign message fits right in with his never-ending embrace of far-right extremists.'
Blakeman is trailing incumbent Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul by 14 points in the latest Quinnipiac poll ahead of the November 3 election. The Cook Political Report currently ranks the New York gubernatorial race as leaning Democratic.