The owner of the New York Knicks, who hosted both President Donald Trump and New York GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman in his box during the Knicks’ championship run, has shifted his pocket behind Blakeman in the New York governor race after years of donating to Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY).
A new report from Politico detailed Knicks owner and Madison Square Garden Sports CEO James Dolan’s shift from supporting Hochul’s campaigning in the past to bankrolling Blakeman. The outlet detailed that Dolan, along with his business and family members, has given about $1.4 million to Blakeman’s campaign to oust Hochul this year, four years after he supported Hochul’s 2022 campaign.
A spokesperson for Dolan’s company, MSG Entertainment, told the outlet that the company backs “candidates that are interested in helping all New Yorkers,” adding that “that cannot be done in a failing economy.”
Dolan and Trump have a long relationship, with the Knicks owner making several contributions to the New York City businessman-turned-president’s political campaigns. Dolan also permitted Trump to hold a massive pre-election rally in Madison Square Garden ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Dolan, who has in the past given largely to New York state Democrats, including Hochul, sat with both Trump and Blakeman in his MSG box back in June when the Knicks played the San Antonio Spurs. Trump endorsed Blakeman for governor in December 2025.
A fixture of the New York City business community, Dolan has given to members of both political parties in his time in the spotlight. The outlet quoted President of Partnership for NYC Steve Fulop, a Hochul ally, who argued that “the business community is obviously not monolithic, but I’d say the majority of the prominent leaders in the business community are supporters of Governor Hochul.”
Hochul’s office emphasized the broadness of her campaign’s base of support in New York.
“We’re proud that New Yorkers from across all 62 counties, with an average online donation of twenty bucks, are standing with Governor Hochul in her fight to bring down the cost of housing, childcare, car insurance and more, and stop her ‘MAGA all the way’ opponent from letting Donald Trump attack New York, jack up prices, and threaten public safety,” a spokesman for Hochul told the Washington Examiner.
Dolan’s move to support Trump-backed Blakeman also comes as Trump’s plans to renovate Penn Station spared any changes to Madison Square Garden, which sits atop Penn Station. The move also comes after Hochul endorsed socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani in his 2025 candidacy, as Mamdani has made many in the Big Apple’s financial and business sectors worried about the impacts of his socialist policies on business.
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Hochul and Blakeman, the current Nassau County executive, are set to face off in the November general election, with Hochul leading by double digits in the most recent polling on the matchup. The Cook Political Report lists the race as a solid Democratic seat.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to the Blakeman campaign for comment.