Bruce Blakeman surpasses $1M mark in campaign donations. Will he run again?

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has more than $1 million in his campaign account following a busy first half of 2024, according to state filings, despite not formally announcing a run for reelection or any other elected office.

Blakeman, a Republican, brought in $640,920, more than doubling the funds in his "Blakeman for Nassau" account between Jan. 15 and July 15, bringing his cash-on-hand balance to $1,068,835, state campaign finance disclosures show.

The strong fundraising comes as Blakeman has yet to share his future political plans. His first term as county executive ends in 2025. Despite appearances on conservative media outlets and aiming for a national profile, Blakeman's latest haul was from local donors — including those who also contribute to Democratic campaigns.

When asked about Blakeman's political future, Nassau County Republican Committee chairman Joseph Cairo said in a statement Monday that he and Blakeman have discussed the possibility of running for a second term as county executive and the "campaign filings have illustrated the depth of his popularity." 

"The county executive and I have discussed his future, and he has indicated a strong desire to run for reelection to the job that he loves," Cairo said.

Blakeman was a member of the Hempstead Town Council before defeating then-county executive Laura Curran, a Democrat, by 2,146 votes in 2021. He also ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives, New York City mayor and New York State comptroller.  

Top individual donors this period include real estate developer David S. Mack and business strategist and government lobbyist Robert McBride, each giving $12,000 to the Blakeman campaign.

Mack is on the board of trustees at Hofstra University and is one of the institution's top benefactors, with several buildings named after him.

McBride is president and CEO of McBride Consulting & Business Development Group, based in Melville. 

Hofstra, however, led the opposition against the Blakeman administration's biggest economic initiative: brokering a deal between the county and Las Vegas Sands to operate the county-owned Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale.

The Nevada-based company has proposed a $6 billion casino-resort on the 72-acre property if it wins a state gaming license. McBride's firm provided consulting advice to Hofstra in the university's initial opposition to the project. 

Hofstra then successfully sued the county, delaying the approval process for Sands to gain control of the site. 

Mack told Newsday he is "lifelong friends" with Blakeman, his late father and the family of Blakeman's former wife, Nancy Shevell. 

"I am here to support my friends on both sides of the aisle," Mack said. 

McBride told Newsday he has "a long public history of supporting the county executives of both counties and from both parties." 

Law firms and individuals who stand to benefit from the county's tax grievance process wrote hefty checks, too. At the top of this list was the Committee for Fair Property Taxes, which donated $14,700, and the NVS Victory Campaign Fund, which gave $9,000.

The Committee for Fair Property Taxes is backed by Nassau's largest residential tax appeal firms and is a major contributor to the NVS Victory Fund, a campaign account created in 2009 by Republicans in North Valley Stream. Both donate heavily to the campaigns of political candidates in local and state races, the bulk of them running on the Republican line.

Other donations this cycle include: $5,500 from Better Long Island, a political action committee funded by law firm Forchelli Deegan Terrana; $3,750 from Republican donor Shalom Maidenbaum, founder of Maidenbaum Property Tax Reduction Group LLC; and $1,000 from Empire Tax Reductions, a Glen Cove company whose president is Republican donor Claire Gangi.

"The Committee for Fair Property Taxes has only one agenda: protecting Nassau homeowners who have been inaccurately assessed," the PAC’s spokesperson, Amanda Henning Santiago, told Newsday in a statement. "The organization, and its members, donates to both Republican and Democratic candidates and committees who are committed to protecting taxpayers."

Additionally, the county's law enforcement unions in the first six months of 2024 also donated to Blakeman, including $10,000 from the Nassau County Police Benevolent Association; $9,000 from the county Correction Officers; $5,000 from the county Superior Officers Association; $5,000 from the Sheriff's Association; and $4,750 from the county's Detective Association. 

Blakeman's administration settled contracts with COBA and the PBA in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Contracts for the SOA and DAI were settled during the Curran administration.

Legis. Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove), the leader of the Nassau legislature's Democratic minority caucus, said Blakeman "appears more interested in auditioning for his next role than in keeping the promises he made to our residents."

"Rather than focusing on essential governing tasks that he promised to deliver during his campaign — such as cutting taxes and establishing a fair assessment system — he seems to be concentrating instead on fundraising and promoting divisive culture war issues to boost his visibility on national cable shows. We deserve a leader who puts our community first, rather than their own selfish ambitions," she said. 

Hank Sheinkopf, a Manhattan-based political strategist who has worked for Democratic and Republican candidates, said he thinks "Blakeman has always wanted to be in high public office," including that of governor. 

"But a lot of his future will depend on what the Republican chairman of Nassau County wants and how weak [Kathy] Hochul might be going into 2026," Sheinkopf said.

Blakeman declined to comment for this story. 

By Candice Ferrette

candice.ferrette@newsday.comcandiceferrette

Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.