Gov. Kathy Hochul has become one of the Bills’ highest paid players.
The billionaire owners of the Buffalo Bills showered Hochul and the state Democratic Party with nearly $175,000 in donations — after she pushed to spend millions in taxpayer cash on the team’s new stadium.
Terry and Kim Pegula donated an eye-watering total $174,600, the maximum amount allowed, between Hochul’s re-election bid and the New York Dems’ coffers, according to the latest campaign finance reports, released this week.
Terry Pegula threw $138,600 to the Democratic State Committee and $18,000 to Hochul’s campaign in January, while his wife Kim, who co-owns the team, gave the incumbent governor $18,000, the filings show.
It’s the largest sum the Pegulas have ever dumped into state elections, according to BOE reports, though they have previously given to some of Hochul’s fellow Western New York pols, like County Executive Mark Poloncarz and other Democratic PACs.
It comes after Hochul — a proud member of the “Bills Mafia” — in 2022 steered $600 million in state funds to her favorite team’s new stadium, located just outside Buffalo. Erie County chipped in another $250 million.
The total price tag on the project was first estimated at $1.4 billion, the largest construction project ever in Western New York.
“I don’t know if we’d be here today without Kathy’s support,” Terry Pegula said at a ribbon cutting on the new Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park late last month.
He and Hochul were later pictured sprawled out on the grass of the stadium.
“Politicians like Kathy Hochul love taking credit for spending other people’s money,” Erie County Republican Committee Chairman Michael Kracker told The Post.
“The real MVPs behind the new Bills stadium are the New York State taxpayers who contributed $600 million, Erie County taxpayers who added another $250 million, and the Pegula family, who made a historic private investment to keep the Bills in Western New York,” he said.
Hochul’s campaign declined to say what she thought motivated the Pegulas to donate such a large sum — while taking aim at Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, her Republican opponent in the November gubernatorial election.
“The governor’s historic investment in building a strong coordinated campaign means we will not only send Blakeman packing a sixth time this November, but also help Democrats take back the House and flip local offices across the Empire State,” Hochul campaign manager Preston Elliott said.
Hochul’s campaign reported it had $21 million on hand ahead of the election, according to the filings.
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