The Trump-backed Republican operating for governor of New York has funnelled greater than $4.2 million of marketing campaign money to an promoting company that ran the 2017 advert marketing campaign for Germany‘s far-right Various for Germany (AfD).
The marketing campaign of Bruce Blakeman, who’s Jewish, additionally paid a agency based by a convicted fraudster, the Day by day Mail can reveal.
Blakeman’s marketing campaign spent greater than $4.2 million on on-line adverts by Harris Media, filings from the New York State Board of Elections present.
Harris Media was chargeable for the AfD’s 2017 federal advert marketing campaign, which portrayed long-time chancellor Angela Merkel as a terrorist, DER SPIEGEL reported.
One Harris Media worker reportedly additionally pitched the slogan ‘Germany for Germans’ to the AfD, which was rejected by a celebration staffer for being too nationalistic.
The company labored for the social gathering in the identical 12 months that Björn Höcke, the AfD’s chief in Thuringia, launched an notorious assault on Germany’s tradition of Holocaust remembrance.
He referred to as Berlin’s Holocaust memorial a ‘memorial of disgrace’ and demanded a ‘180-degree flip within the politics of reminiscence’. Even Alice Weidel, now the social gathering’s co-leader, mentioned the speech echoed the vocabulary of Adolf Hitler.
Harris Media has additionally labored for UKIP in Britain and Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud in Israel. Within the US its shoppers have included Senator Ted Cruz, Sarah Palin and the pro-Trump Proper for America PAC.
Republican Bruce Blakeman paid greater than $4.2 million for ‘fundraising’ and ‘on-line adverts’ to Harris Media, which pitched a marketing campaign slogan for the far-right Various for Germany (AfD) thought-about too nationalistic by its personal members
The Trump-backed candidate additionally paid greater than $11,600 cut up into 800 installments to the fundraising agency of a convicted fraudster, Jack Daly, who pled responsible to committing mail fraud and mendacity to the Federal Election Commision after scamming aged voters and veterans
Daly was sentenced to 4 months in jail and two years of supervised launch in 2023
Blakeman’s marketing campaign additionally gave greater than $11,600 to Higher Mousetrap Digital cut up into nearly 800 funds between April and October 2026 for ‘fundraising.’
The agency was based in 2023 by Jack Daly, who in the identical 12 months was sentenced to jail for 4 months and two years of supervised launch over the creation of a rip-off political motion committee (PAC), in keeping with the US Legal professional’s Workplace for the Japanese District of Wisconsin.
Daly’s PAC raised greater than $1.6 million by telling donors their cash would persuade a sheriff in Wisconsin to run for the US Senate.
Investigators discovered Daly falsely instructed Clarke was more likely to run and lied about his personal function within the PAC.
‘Daly focused weak victims, together with a girl with Alzheimer’s and aged veterans,’ a press launch from the US Legal professional’s Workplace for the Japanese District of Wisconsin mentioned.
Daly pleaded responsible to conspiring to commit mail fraud and to deceive the Federal Election Fee.
The identical 12 months during which Harris Media did advert marketing campaign work for the AfD, the social gathering’s state chief Höcke held a speech that resembled ‘vocabulary from Adolf Hitler,’ AfD co-chair Alice Weidel mentioned. Blakeman, who’s Jewish, determined to fee the identical company that didn’t draw back from working with Germany’s far-right to do his personal advert marketing campaign
Kathy Hochul is operating for re-election as New York Governor on November 3. The Prepare dinner Political Report at present ranks the state’s gubernatorial battle as Democratic leaning
Final 12 months he tried to have his conviction thrown out, claiming his earlier lawyer had given him ‘substantively incorrect recommendation.’ Decide JP Stadtmueller denied the movement. Daly’s supervised launch led to June.
Higher Mousetrap advertises itself as ‘the premier digital fundraising consulting agency for Republicans’ with expertise ‘spanning from state home campaigns to the White Home.’
It additionally lists Donald Trump for President, the Nationwide Republican Senatorial Committee, the Republican Nationwide Committee amongst its shoppers.
Reached by telephone, a spokesperson at Blakeman’s marketing campaign headquarters advised the Day by day Mail they do not have ‘something to say.’ The Day by day Mail additionally emailed the marketing campaign for remark.
Blakeman trails Hochul by 14 factors within the newest Quinnipiac ballot forward of the November 3 election and the Prepare dinner Political Report nonetheless ranks New York’s gubernatorial battle as Democratic leaning.
New York State Democratic Occasion spokesperson Addison Dick advised the Day by day Mail: ‘Bruce Blakeman paying hundreds of thousands to those folks to craft his marketing campaign message suits proper in along with his unending embrace of far-right extremists.
‘Blakeman has greater than earned his “100% MAGA” title, and New Yorkers are about to reject him for it.’
The Day by day Mail contacted Harris Media, Higher Mousetrap and Daly’s lawyer for remark.
