Governor Hochul, Leader Stewart-Cousins, Speaker Heastie Mangle Landmark Public Campaign Finance System

We are extremely disappointed and surprised by the degree of contempt the Governor and Legislature showed to New Yorkers by including secret language in the state budget that vastly increases the size of contributions eligible for public matching funds and boosts the public match in ways that turn the hard-won public campaign matching system into an incumbency protection program. This is not what healthy democracies do.

The public campaign law is meant to give New York voters real choices and confidence that their voices actually matter, and the system is not completely rigged by special interests and big money. Importantly, the public campaign law was decided in daylight over months and thoroughly debated by the public and lawmakers in eight all-day, public hearings and dozens of other meetings. The vile and confusing provisions we are condemning emerged from the bowels of budget secrecy, passed in darkness with no debate. 

Turning the Public Matching Law on Its Head
Original NYS Public Campaign System

• Matches for contributors donating $250 combined primary and general
• Total of $250 matched in primary plus general

Secret Incumbency Protection Plan Passed in the Budget

• Matches for contributors donating $2,100 combined primary and general ($1,050 + $1,050) 
• Total of $500 matched in primary plus general ($250 + $250)

Benefit to Incumbents
Incumbents benefit from the increase in allowable contributions and double match because election data shows on average they get much larger contributions and find it easier to raise money from deep-pocketed special interests. Contributions of $1,000 or more made up 32% of total campaign funds in 2024, down from 51% in 2022. Conversely, the value of $250 contributors grew due to the public match, funding 49% of campaigns in 2024 vs. 11% in 2022, according to the Brennan Center.