Big Sky Times

A former high-ranking adviser to Gov. Steve Bullock’s presidential campaign allegedly was involved in the cover-up of John Edwards' affair during the former Senator's own 2008 run for the White House.

The NY Post initially reported in 2011 that Bullock’s general consultant and senior adviser Nick Baldick, who worked with Bullock during his 2020 presidential campaign, was heavily involved in hiding certain facts about Edwards' extramarital affair and child with videographer Rielle Hunter. Baldick was the former campaign manager for Edwards’ 2004 Democratic presidential campaign.

For Edwards’ 2008 campaign, Baldick organized the tax-exempt 527 group “Alliance for a New America (AFNA).” The Post revealed that out of the $4.8 million the group raised, $3.3 million was given to Alliance for a New America LLC for unknown “consulting services.” Not only did AFNA and AFNA LLC carry the same name, but they also shared the same mailing address and both had connections to one of Baldick’s colleagues, Katherine Buchanan, according to the Post. 

The Post reported that it was believed the 527 group was primarily formed to cover-up the affair from the media, public, and Edwards’ now-deceased wife, Elizabeth.

The Associated Press reported that former Edwards' 2008 campaign staffer Andrew Young was offered an estimated $30,000 salary boost by Baldick to leave Edwards’ office and continue working for one of Baldick’s private organizations in the fall 2007. This was also during the time when the election was approaching its climax, and Young had begun caring for a pregnant Hunter. Young had been also given at least $150,000 in payments as a reward for funds he raised for AFNA.

On Nov. 14, 2007, one month following Young receiving his final campaign payment, he announced he was the father of Hunter’s child. Years after, Young admitted his deception and severed all ties with Edwards, who announced his paternity in 2018.

Bullock’s office was unavailable for any comment on whether the Montana Democrat was aware of Baldick’s actions prior to hiring him to work on his own campaign. 

The Daily Beast reported in December 2010 that Baldick had already testified before a grand jury amid several subpoenas being issued to those involved in the affair’s secrecy.

Edwards originally met Hunter in a New York bar and hired her to assist him in building his 2008 campaign. Once Hunter became pregnant with Edwards’ child, two of Edwards’ friends offered more than $1 million to help hide the relationship, which caused Edwards to be accused of fraud by the government.

Baldick has worked with many well-known Democratic candidates and unions throughout the years, such as New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Al Gore, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and the National Education Association (NEA), among others.