Blakeman campaign paid millions to AfD-linked ad firm and convicted fraudster
Bruce Blakeman’s New York gubernatorial campaign paid more than $4.2 million to Harris Media, an advertising agency that worked on Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) campaign in 2017. The payments have drawn attention because the AfD is a far-right party and the agency’s past work included an ad portraying then-chancellor Angela Merkel as a terrorist.
The campaign also paid more than $11,600 to Better Mousetrap Digital, a fundraising firm founded by Jack Daly, who was sentenced in 2023 to four months in prison for fraud involving a political action committee. Daly’s scheme raised more than $1.6 million by falsely suggesting a Wisconsin sheriff might run for the US Senate; prosecutors said he targeted vulnerable donors, including elderly veterans and a woman with Alzheimer’s. Blakeman is a Trump-backed Republican and is running against Democratic governor Kathy Hochul, whose re-election contest is rated Democratic leaning by the Cook Political Report.
In short
- Blakeman’s campaign paid Harris Media more than $4.2 million.
- The agency worked on AfD advertising in 2017.
- A firm founded by a convicted fraudster received over $11,600.
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The case for
Campaign spending on consultants should be judged by their work for the campaign, not treated as an endorsement of every past client or action. Harris Media’s AfD work and its controversial Merkel advert may merit scrutiny, but they do not by themselves establish that Blakeman shares those views; the payment to Better Mousetrap was comparatively small, and Daly’s conviction does not alone show the campaign knew of or supported his fraud.
The case against
Candidates have a responsibility to vet firms they pay and to consider the reputational and ethical implications of those choices. Paying millions to an agency associated with a far-right party and a provocative advert, alongside a payment to a firm founded by someone convicted of exploiting donors, can reasonably prompt questions about the campaign’s judgement, oversight and standards, even without proof that it shared the firms’ conduct or views.
Explained simply
New York governors are elected statewide and lead the state government. Bruce Blakeman, a Republican backed by Donald Trump, is challenging incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul; the contest is considered favourable to Hochul by the Cook Political Report, a US election analysis group.
Harris Media is an advertising agency that worked for Germany’s Alternative for Germany party in 2017. The AfD is commonly described as far right, and the agency’s work included an advert depicting then-chancellor Angela Merkel as a terrorist. Better Mousetrap Digital is a fundraising firm founded by Jack Daly, who was convicted in a scheme that misled donors about a possible Senate campaign.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Jewish GOP hopeful Bruce Blakeman pays millions to agency behind far-right German party ad campaign and $11K to fraudster who went to prison”.