Republican’s donations to sex scandal Democrats as he eyes war with Trump ally in New York

A Republican looking to enter the New York governor race is set to face questions over why his consulting firm donated to the campaigns of two disgraced Democrats.

Bruce Blakeman, 70, looks set to enter the race to be the Republican nominee to take on sitting Democrat Kathy Hochul in November 2026.

Elise Stefanik, 41, a close ally of President Donald Trump, has already declared and has numerous endorsements.

Democrats are salivating at the prospect of Stefanik having to face a primary.

On Monday afternoon, President Trump declined to say if he would endorse Stefanik or Blakeman.

The President added: ‘He’s great and she’s great. They’re both great people.’

Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is considering running for New York governor

Campaign finance records show Blakeman’s consulting firm, Madison Strategies, donated $2,500 to Democrat Eliot Spitzer’s successful campaign for governor in August 2006.

Two months later, it donated only $400 to Spitzer’s Republican opponent John Faso.

The following year, there was a donation of $1,000 to ‘Anthony Weiner for Mayor,’ although Weiner ended up not running.

Both Spitzer and Weiner were later disgraced in sex scandals.

Blakeman’s consulting firm also made numerous donations to Republican political candidates and committees over the years, according to New he raceYork state board of elections records.

But the donations to Democrats are expected to spark a reaction from die-hard Republicans.

Last month, he won reelection to a second four-year term as Nassau County Executive, and said he had been ‘urged by business, community and political leaders across the state to make the run (for governor) and I am seriously considering it,”

Blakeman was married for 23 years to Nancy Shevell until they separated in 2007.

Shevell was then introduced by Barbara Walters to Sir Paul McCartney in the Hamptons, and became the ex-Beatle’s third wife in 2011.

Republican Elise Stefanik has declared her run for New York Governor

President Donald Trump is taking a close interest in the New York Governor race

Bruce Blakeman’s former wife Nancy Shevell and Paul McCartney attend the Beatles ’64 Premiere at Hudson Square Theater on November 24, 2024 in New York City

Democrat New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she would find it ‘entertaining’ if Blakeman challenges Stefanik for the Republican nomination

Speaking last month, Blakeman suggested he could appeal to Democrat voters across the state.

He told Politico: ‘In a county that has 110,000 more registered Democrats, I won a landslide victory with a majority of over 36,000 votes. So I think that demonstrates that I have the ability to get votes from people that you need to have on your side if you’re going to win a statewide election in New York.

‘We’ll see. Elise is a very attractive candidate, she’s very bright, and I think it will come down to who the party thinks has the best chance to win.’

Blakeman also said he had talked to President Donald Trump last month about running.

‘I’ve talked to him. I told him that I was interested, and he didn’t discourage me,’ he said. ‘And I think he’s had the same conversation with Elise.’

On Monday, Hochul said: ‘If there’s a Republican primary it makes it much more entertaining for me. Let’s see how they out-MAGA each other in a primary.’

Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City last month

Elise Stefanik has slammed Hochul over the state of New York City

Stefanik announced her run last month. In her launch video, a narrator declares ‘The Empire State has fallen’ as it paints a grim picture of life in New York City.

She has castigated Hochul, 67, as the ‘worst governor in America’ and slammed her for endorsing democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani to be mayor of New York City.

Stefanik has said she is running to make New York ‘affordable and safe for families all across our great state.’

She said: ‘Our campaign will unify Republicans, Democrats, and Independents to fire Kathy Hochul once and for all to save New York,” Weiner, who represented a district in parts of Brooklyn and Queens in Congress, was once a rising Democrat star until his political career was derailed by sexting scandals.

His career imploded for sending a lewd picture of himself to a college student over Twitter in 2011.

Disgraced former New York Democratic congressman Anthony Weiner

huma Abedin was a close aide to Hillary Clinton

Eliot Spitzer quit as New York governor in 2008 over a prostitution scandal

After leaving Washington, he mounted a campaign for New York City mayor but was again undone after it was disclosed that he sent explicit photos under the alias ‘Carlos Danger.’

His marriage to Huma Abedin, a close aide of Hillary Clinton, collapsed.

In 2017 he pleaded guilty to transferring obscene material to a minor and was sentenced to 21 months in prison.

Spitzer quit as governor in 2008 over his patronage of prostitutes.