NYS Focus review finds Blakeman's matching-funds requests included more than 2,600 ineligible donations worth about $860K in potential match; the board did not answer questions about his contributions

NYS Focus reports that about 10 percent of contributions Blakeman submitted for public matching were marked eligible despite problems: over 1,900 from donors outside New York (400+ from Florida and Texas) and over 500 above the $1,050 individual limit. The campaign says errors were corrected in amended reports; NYS Focus found the latest versions still include match requests for thousands of ineligible donations. Blakeman had received nearly $2M in matching funds as of July, and it is not clear whether any ineligible donations were matched. The Public Campaign Finance Board says staff audit all claims before paying and can recover funds.