Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman accused Gov. Kathy Hochul of taking orders from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and serving as a useful tool of what he called an anti-American movement within the Democratic Party. The Republican nominee for governor made the claim during a 20-minute interview, laying out a closing argument built around public safety, taxes and utility costs with just over two weeks left before Election Day.
The attack lands days after Mamdani appeared in a campaign video for Hochul released Oct. 15, in which he knocked Blakeman over Medicaid, child care and ICE cooperation, according to amNY. In that video, Mamdani called Blakeman a “bad apple,” as reported by Politico. Mamdani told amNY he expects to join Hochul on the campaign trail before Election Day on Nov. 3.
Blakeman, in his interview published by the New York Post, argued that Hochul's support for Mamdani and her campaigning with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez demonstrate extremism, and he described Mamdani as antisemitic, anti-Christian and anti-American. He said he would require Mamdani to enforce the law uniformly as governor and would not allow the mayor to make communities less safe or target communities with threatening rhetoric.
Medicaid and Child Care Fight Resurfaces
Central to Mamdani's video was Blakeman's past pledge to cut Medicaid spending in half, paired with footage of Blakeman saying, “We make sure we cut Medicaid in half.” But during the Oct. 13 gubernatorial debate, Blakeman said he had never made that statement, per amNY's reporting. Blakeman also pushed back on the child care attack, telling amNY, “I support universal childcare for working parents, but why would any common sense leader pay for childcare for someone who is not working?”
That debate, the only one scheduled before the election, took place over 60 minutes in the Spectrum News NY1 newsroom, as detailed by NY1. Hochul mentioned former President Donald Trump roughly 20 times during the exchange, according to the seed reporting. Early voting begins Oct. 24, with Election Day set for Nov. 3, NY1 reports.
Surveillance Plans and a Nassau-NYC Border
Blakeman has also leaned on his record as Nassau County executive, pointing to plans to install surveillance cameras, license-plate readers and facial-recognition technology along the county's border with New York City. He first disclosed those plans last November, telling Newsday that Nassau would also add police headcount and intensify patrols along the roughly 15.5-mile border stretching from Little Neck Bay to the Rockaways, though he gave no timeline or specifics.
He has previously focused on local law enforcement cooperating with ICE, as the station's report on his border plans noted.
Blakeman has criticized Hochul for spending money on undocumented migrants rather than hospitals, schools and infrastructure, telling Gothamist, “Governor Hochul made a terrible mistake spending all this money on illegal migrants when we could use them for hospitals, for schools, for infrastructure.” That comment came as part of his broader push to tie public-safety messaging to his gubernatorial run, per Gothamist.
Taxes, Utility Bills and the Affordability Pitch
Blakeman said New Yorkers want lower taxes, utility bills cut in half, good jobs and safer communities, and he claimed he would cut income taxes and end green-energy policies in favor of expanding energy supply, including natural gas, to bring costs down. He said Hochul has the highest taxes in the United States and that her utility bills are 70% higher than the national average, while claiming Pennsylvania's bills are more than 50% lower than New York's — all per his own account in the interview. He also said New York ranked 50th and last in national economic outlook, again attributing that figure to himself.
Blakeman pointed to his own record in Nassau County, saying he cut taxes and had not raised them in five years, and citing seven bond upgrades and four budget surpluses during his tenure. He said U.S. News & World Report ranked Nassau the safest county in America and argued people are moving into the county rather than leaving, crediting job creation and economic activity under his leadership.
Polling Gap and Campaign Finances
Blakeman disputed that gap, saying the race was neck and neck. He said his campaign was using social media, television, radio, streaming, direct mail and newsprint. James Dolan's companies made $3 million in contributions. Blakeman said Trump had supported his campaign.
Cuomo, the Cornell 7 Case and a Jets Pitch
On the so-called Cornell 7 case, Blakeman criticized state Attorney General Letitia James for allegedly prejudging the matter and said he would instead appoint Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney or Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly to handle it.
Blakeman also said he would use political leverage to push the state legislature and City Hall to end congestion pricing, increase police presence on the streets and fill NYPD vacancies left by retirements and departures.
Blakeman described himself as a pro-choice Republican. He said he believed lawmakers would support some of his tax-relief, utility and public-safety goals, citing the governor's leverage over the state budget in negotiations with Democratic lawmakers. His stated goals, he said, come down to cutting taxes and making communities safe.
