James Dolan, the billionaire owner of the New York Knicks, the New York Rangers and Madison Square Garden, has emerged as a major financial backer of Republican gubernatorial nominee Bruce Blakeman, pouring $1.
4 million this year into committees supporting the challenger to Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul.
According to Just The News, Dolan had previously steered $2 million into Madison Square Gardens own super PAC, an entity that traditionally aligned with moderate Democrats, including Hochul herself. That political vehicle has since shifted course, transferring funds into a separate super PAC created last year to bolster GOP Rep. Elise Stefaniks short-lived gubernatorial bid, Politico reported, and it is now airing ads on behalf of Blakeman.
The realignment of Dolans political spending comes at a moment when one of New Yorks most influential Republican benefactors, billionaire cosmetics heir Ronald Lauder, has stepped back from campaign giving. Lauder, who once invested more than $11 million to support then-GOP Rep. Lee Zeldins run for governor four years ago, had been a crucial counterweight to the states entrenched Democrat fundraising machine.
For conservatives, Dolans move underscores how dissatisfaction with one-party rule in Albany is driving new alliances and recalibrated strategies. A competitive challenge to Hochul at the top of the ticket is widely seen as essential for Republicans to flip several vulnerable House seats in New York, contests that could ultimately decide which party controls Congress and whether Washington continues down a progressive path or returns to a more limited-government course.
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