Democrat donor Harry Wilson officially entered New York’s governor’s race as a Republican after poll-testing not voting for former President Donald Trump in 2020 and donating thousands of dollars to anti-Trump politicians.
“Our state is totally broken. Rising crime, sky-high taxes, closed schools, corrupt politicians,” Wilson tweeted along with a link to a campaign video. “I’ve spent my career turning around failing organizations. Let’s get this done.”
Wilson joins a Republican field of candidates dominated by Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), a four-term congressman who is the GOP’s presumptive nominee. Along with Zeldin, Rudy Giuliani’s son, Andrew Giuliani, and 2014 GOP gubernatorial nominee Rob Astorino are also running for governor.
The eventual Republican nominee will likely face New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), who replaced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) following his resignation amid sexual harassment allegations.
Wilson’s entry into the race as a Republican comes as a shock due to his history as a two-time former President Barack Obama appointee. Wilson served on Obama’s Auto Task Force after the 2008 recession and served on the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation’s advisory committee, a controversial agency that monitors pension payments from failed companies.
Additionally, Breitbart News reported that Wilson polled Republican voters on how they felt about a potential candidate who did not vote for Trump in the 2020 presidential election. As part of Wilson’s survey, he reportedly included questions that alluded to his time spent on Obama’s Auto Task Force.
With the New York State Republican Party convention starting next week and the GOP primary taking place in June, Wilson will need to collect signatures from Republican voters to petition to get on the primary ballot.
This year’s governor’s race is not Wilson’s first attempt at a statewide office in New York. Wilson lost his race for New York Comptroller after his Democrat opponent “continually slammed him for his lack of answers to questions about his involvement in the bailout and pension plan restructuring.”
Although Wilson says he “cannot sit by while New York is devastated by career politicians,” he has donated to multiple Democrat politicians, including Soros-linked Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg who reduced certain violent crimes from felonies to misdemeanors and instructed prosecutors to reduce charges filed by police officers in some circumstances.
Along with Bragg, who pledged to personally focus on an investigation into former President Donald Trump’s businesses, Wilson’s donor record includes Democrat Rep. Jim Himes, who played a prominent role during Trump’s first impeachment, and Gina Raimondo, who currently serves as President Joe Biden’s Secretary of Commerce.