Bruce Blakeman pulls in nearly $2M in campaign funds so far this year in Nassau executive race as Seth Koslow trails, filings show

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman tripled the amount of money in his reelection campaign account over the last year to $3.3 million, according to the most recent state filing, far outraising Democratic challenger Seth Koslow.    

In the first six months of 2025, the "Blakeman for Nassau" campaign account took in $1.95 million from individual donors, political action committees, corporations and unions, according to financial disclosures from the state Board of Elections. Koslow, an attorney from Merrick and a county legislator, raised $433,535 during the same time frame for his campaign and has $389,855 to spend. 

The campaigns filed their financial disclosures with the state covering the period of Jan. 15 to July 15. The documents are a window into who might influence the candidates most and how much their campaigns are able to spend on advertising and political consultants and canvassers. 

"Money doesn't always determine the outcome of an election, but when you're the incumbent and when you have a spending advantage like that, you cannot only dominate the airwaves, you can dominate the ground war," said Christopher Malone, political science professor and associate provost at Farmingdale State College, who has managed local campaigns. "He has almost universal name recognition and that's a head start in and of itself." 

Blakeman drew nearly 700 donations from individuals, with about 40 of them giving more than $10,000. James Metzger, CEO and founder of The Whitmore Group, an insurance group, donated $50,000 as did family members of Harvinder Singh, CEO of the Bolla Oil Corporation. Republican Kenneth Gaul, of Port Jefferson, an owner of nursing homes, gave $25,000, as did another nursing home owner, Benjamin Landa, of Cold Spring Hills nursing home. The estate of Lawrence Herbert, the inventor of the Pantone color-matching system, also gave $25,000. 

The political arms of law enforcement unions gave thousands as well. This cycle, the Nassau PBA gave $12,000; the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association, $7,000; the Detectives' Association, $2,500; and the Nassau Superior Officers Association, $2,000.

Law firms, real estate developers and business groups gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to Blakeman, too. Abrams Fensterman, a Lake Success law firm that does work for the county, and its attorneys donated a sizable amount. Among them was Frank Carone, former chief of staff to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who along with his wife, Diana, donated $25,000. Blakeman's donor list also includes law firms and attorneys who work for Bee Ready Fishbein Hatter & Donovan, Greenberg Traurig and Jaspan Schlesinger Narendran, all of which are currently performing legal work for the county, which has tripled its spending on outside law firms.

"I'm proud to have earned overwhelming support from hardworking taxpayers, law enforcement, trade unions, and local employers who stand behind my record of holding the line on taxes and keeping Nassau the safest county in America," Blakeman, 69, of Atlantic Beach, said on Thursday in a statement to Newsday.

Koslow, 43, of Merrick, is a former Queens prosecutor turned criminal defense attorney with a private practice in Mineola. He is serving his first term as a county legislator representing the areas of North Merrick, Merrick and Freeport. Despite having less name recognition, he had about 90 more donations from individuals than Blakeman, although in amounts that were much smaller. 

State and Nassau County Democratic Committee chairman Jay Jacobs gave $15,000; trader and philanthropist Eric Knight, of Port Washington, $10,000; and the New Suburbia political action committee, which supports Democratic candidates, $8,500. 

His campaign also benefited from transfers from other local Democratic candidates and elected officials.

Koslow's campaign has called out some of Blakeman's donations as "disturbing," alleging a pay-to-play scheme that questions whether Blakeman is getting too many donations from county vendors. In a rally in front of the county executive and legislative building on Thursday, he decried the large donations Blakeman's campaign received from law firms and others who have business before the county. 

"If you're doing business with the county, odds are you're cutting checks to Bruce, too," Koslow said. "Every dollar Blakeman takes from a vendor is a dollar that compromises our trust in government and raises our taxes."

Blakeman, through a spokesman, did not directly address Koslow’s allegations.

Blakeman has been in the public eye for three decades and during his term as county executive, gained national attention for his ties to President Donald Trump.

Blakeman has prompted lawsuits and grabbed headlines for policies such as banning transgender female athletes from playing on teams that use county facilities, deputizing citizen gun owners to mobilize when he determines a security threat, partnering with federal immigration agents in a mass deportation effort in the county and banning residents from wearing face masks but reversing course for law enforcement wear. 

During his term, he also brokered a deal between Nevada-based casino company Las Vegas Sands to lease the county-owned Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale — a move supported by business groups and trades unions despite Sands withdrawing its proposal to build a $6 billion resort there.

Blakeman for about two years had touted the possibility of a new medical center on the campus of Nassau Community College — which also excited the local business sector — before talks broke down with NYU Langone health system. It was announced in March that neither of those projects would be built.

The election is set for Nov. 4.

Newsday's Caroline Curtin contributed research 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.