Bill Spadea, a former radio host running a pro-Donald Trump bid for New Jersey governor, is facing heat over a fundraising tactic that reportedly led him to receive a stream of small-dollar donations from Trump supporters who say they didn’t realize they were giving to Spadea’s campaign or even know who he is.
A report this week from Politico New Jersey explored how Spadea and a political action committee linked to him use an online fundraising platform to seek recurring low-amount donations from people.
Sometimes, the emails focus on Trump or broad national topics and feature photos of Trump’s family members, while Spadea’s name is mentioned only in fine print at the bottom. And some of the solicitations include a box that, if left checked, authorizes recurring donations — something Spadea’s opponents don’t use
Politico said it reached out to more than a dozen of the hundreds of people who have donated to Spadea or his PAC, and just two were aware they were making frequent donations to him. Many are retired and live out of state. All of them were over 70 years old and Trump supporters who wanted to help the Republican president, the report said.
Spadea openly praises Trump on the campaign trail and has vowed to enact Trump-style reform in New Jersey — though opponents note he has criticized Trump in the past. Trump himself has so far not endorsed a candidate in the Republican gubernatorial primary.
Margaret McLendon, an 85-year-old Georgia resident, told Politico she didn’t know Spadea’s name despite making six donations for a total of $590 to his campaign since October.
“It bothers me a lot. ... My funds are limited,” McLendon said.
Laurie Daiger, a 73-year-old resident of Washington state, said she believed she was contributing to Trump when she gave more than 20 donations over time totaling $1,000 to Elect Common Sense, the PAC tied to Spadea. Daiger said she realized she gave $3,000 to other campaigns, as well, and canceled her credit card.
“It’s so dirty and rotten to do that,” she told the website.
The practice isn’t illegal or uncommon. Campaigns often get donations from out-of-state residents and focus fundraising pitches on far-reaching topics to draw interest from voters. And recurring donations have become an increasingly prominent tactic in political campaigns on both sides of the aisle, used by Trump himself and Democrats like California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
But these methods have sparked an ongoing national debate about whether confused donors, especially elderly ones, are being duped.
Defenders of recurring donations argue that contributors are able to opt out.
Mike Hahn, an adviser who oversees digital fundraising for Spadea’s campaign, said the campaign is “humbled by the amount of support that Bill has from around the country.”
“Donors are contributing because Bill’s pro-Trump, conservative message is resonating with them on a national scale,” Hahn added. “The Spadea campaign follows industry best practices for online fundraising. Given the fact that prior to Bill, New Jersey Republicans have had a laughable online fundraising presence, I’m not surprised that this is new to other candidates.”
Asked by NJ Advance Media for further comment, Spadea’s campaign referred to Hahn’s statement.
Spadea proudly noted during a Republican gubernatorial debate last week that Elect Common Sense raised “$1 million in 10 months, and our average donation was $11.14 per person.”
But some New Jersey Republicans slammed Spadea after the Politico report.
State Assemblyman Brian Bergen, R-Morris, wrote on social media that Spadea “has no interest in the people of NJ, only interest in his own personal ambitions.”
Former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, Spadea’s top Republican primary opponent, responded to Bergen’s post by writing that Spadea is “deceiving seniors — many who had never heard of him — by tricking them into sending him money they thought was going to help President Trump is offensive.”
“Spadea should give the money back and apologize for ripping these people off,” Ciattarelli added.
Spadea, who hosted the morning talk show on New Jersey 101.5 until stepping down last month, is one of the leading Republican candidates running in a very crowded — and increasingly bitter — race this year to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.
The other major contenders seeking the GOP nod in the June primary are Ciattarelli, state Sen. Jon Bramnick, former state Sen. Ed Durr, and former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac.
Stories by Brent Johnson
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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X at @johnsb01.