Nassau County Govt Bruce Blakeman launched his marketing campaign for governor on Tuesday, organising a Republican major battle towards Rep. Elise Stefanik.
The Nassau County chief framed himself as Republicans’ finest likelihood to defeat Gov. Hochul within the 2026 election. The final Republican to win the governor’s workplace was George Pataki in 2002.
“We want to put New York first,” Blakeman stated in his marketing campaign launch video. “We want to make it more affordable; we want to make New York safer, and we want to make people in New York happy again.”
President Donald Trump listens as Nassau County Govt Bruce Blakeman speaks with reporters as Trump arrives on Air Drive One at Republic Airport, Friday, Sept. 26, 2025, in Farmingdale, New York. (AP Picture/Alex Brandon)
Blakeman, 70, and Stefanik, 41, will compete for the endorsement of President Trump, who refused to decide on a fighter when requested Monday.
“He’s great, and she’s great. They’re both great people,” Trump informed reporters.
Whereas Trump’s endorsement could be key to successful the Republican major, aligning with the president — who’s extensively unpopular in deep-blue New York — might hamstring Blakeman or Stefanik in a normal election towards Hochul.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), left, joins President Donald Trump throughout a marketing campaign rally on the Grappone Conference Heart on January 19, 2024 in Harmony, New Hampshire. (Picture by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Photographs)
For her half, Hochul wasted no time tying Blakeman to Trump after his announcement.
“Just like Donald Trump, he takes money out of New Yorkers’ pockets and squeezes working families at every turn,” the governor stated.
Whereas operating Nassau County, Blakeman has made headlines for cooperating with Trump on immigration crackdowns and banning transgender women and girls from taking part on girls’s sports activities groups within the county.
Nassau County govt Bruce Blakeman, proper, talks to President Donald Trump throughout a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York Metropolis on Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Picture/Yuki Iwamura, File)
Blakeman has tried and did not run for statewide workplace up to now — one thing each Hochul and Stefanik identified Tuesday — however received reelection in Nassau County in November when Republicans had been crushed in different elections within the tri-state space.
He should make up money and time on Stefanik. Whereas the upstate consultant solely introduced her candidacy final month, she had been plotting the marketing campaign for for much longer, and he or she has $12 million available in comparison with Blakeman’s $1 million, in response to marketing campaign filings.
