A Super PAC backing Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman has launched a multi-million-dollar ad campaign accusing Governor Kathy Hochul of running a pay-to-play corruption scheme tied to a $637 million pandemic-era Covid test contract. The ad, from the group Strong and Safe New York, costs $750,000 per week and is set to run on streaming services, paid social media, and video texting through Election Day on November 3.
As reported by the New York Post, the ad targets more than 1 million voters and centers on Hochul's 2021 emergency award of a Covid-test contract to Digital Gadgets, a company owned by Charlie Tebele. The spot points to a November 2021 fundraiser that Tebele and his family held for Hochul, after which the campaign says Digital Gadgets received the $637 million deal days later. The Post also reports that Tebele and his family funneled $300,000 to Hochul's campaign and that family members contributed more than $500,000 overall to her political operation.
A Strong and Safe New York spokesperson said Hochul's actions raise costs for struggling New Yorkers, and the ad itself declares that Hochul's corruption is the tax New Yorkers pay, according to the Post's reporting. The Super PAC is bankrolled in part by Knicks owner James Dolan and casino magnate Steve Wynn, who gave $1 million, according to LifeZette.
The Contract at the Center of the Fight
Digital Gadgets was awarded the no-bid contract to supply Covid tests during the Omicron surge, and the Hochul administration went on to purchase 52 million tests from the company in 2022, per Times Union reporting cited by the Post. Critics say the company charged roughly twice what other buyers paid for the same tests. That price gap is backed by procurement comparisons showing New York paid Digital Gadgets between $11.50 and $13 per test kit as a middleman, while California bought identical AccessBio rapid tests directly from the manufacturer for $6.75 each, saving an estimated $300 million, according to WSHU.
Fox Business reported that New York purchased Covid tests from Digital Gadgets. The deal was authorized under pandemic emergency rules that suspended some oversight requirements, according to WXXI News.
Hochul's Office Pushes Back
Hochul's office has justified the test payments as necessary to buy rapid tests quickly and keep schools open, and a spokesperson said in September 2022 that Governor Hochul did not oversee the procurement process or participate in day-to-day procurement decisions. The administration has also claimed Hochul was not personally involved in awarding the contract to Tebele's firm, saying contracts had to move quickly to curb a spike in Covid cases. Hochul herself instructed her team to purchase as many available Covid tests as possible to meet statewide demand, with officials framing the effort as a push to keep New Yorkers safe.
Despite that urgency, some of the tests purchased were reportedly still unused months after the purchase, per the Post's reporting. The New York Post reported that Hochul's campaign dismissed the ad as a baseless attack.
A Pattern of Political and Legal Fallout
The Digital Gadgets deal has generated friction well beyond this year's ad campaign. In September 2022, Republican members of New York's congressional delegation sent a formal letter asking U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice to open a federal corruption and kickback investigation into the contract, according to a release from Rep. Nicole Malliotakis's office. Then-candidate Lee Zeldin also criticized Hochul over the contract during the 2022 gubernatorial race.
Oversight Changes and the 2026 Race
The controversy did prompt a change in state law. On December 30, 2022, Hochul signed legislation restoring State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's independent pre-audit authority over state contracts, reversing the pandemic-era rules that had allowed emergency purchase orders to bypass oversight, according to a report in The Island Now. Separately, Hochul's 2022 reelection campaign hired Tebele's son James.
The Super PAC's ad blitz lands as the 2026 governor's race has tightened considerably. A Siena College poll released in September showed Hochul leading Blakeman 50% to 41% among likely voters, a 9-point margin far narrower than her 17-point lead at the same point in the 2022 cycle, as Hoodline previously reported.
