Costs are a central part of Republican Bruce Blakeman’s challenge to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, and actress Debra Messing has endorsed his bid. Messing, long associated with Democratic causes, attended a Manhattan fundraiser for Blakeman and later appeared with him in a video.
The fundraiser, hosted by Tanya Zuckerbrot on October 1, came as Blakeman mounts his challenge to Hochul ahead of the November election. The New York Post reported that Messing argued New York City was losing businesses and residents, and that it no longer felt like the city she had known. She pointed to utility costs and the $9 Manhattan congestion pricing toll as examples of affordability concerns, and presented Blakeman as a candidate who could address them.
A Democrat's Public Break
Messing's endorsement marks a notable departure for an actress who has previously supported Hillary Clinton for president and donated to Cynthia Nixon's 2018 run for governor. She has also criticized President Trump, who has boosted Blakeman's campaign, according to the Post's reporting. Blakeman, for his part, thanked Messing for her courage to speak out, saying she was trying to save New York and wanted to make the state safe for Jewish people — a framing tied to Messing's outspoken reaction to Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, after which she posted signs bearing the names of Israeli hostages in Manhattan and urged far-left students to leave the posters up.
What hate-crime data can—and cannot—show
The Office of the New York State Comptroller reported that in 2023 nearly 44 percent of recorded hate-crime incidents and 88 percent of religious-based hate crimes in New York State targeted Jewish victims. A May 2025 NYC Mayor’s Office announcement said NYPD data showed Jewish New Yorkers were targets in 54 percent of city hate crimes in 2024 and 62 percent in the first quarter of 2025. These figures describe the share of recorded hate crimes targeting Jewish people; they do not by themselves measure overall public safety or provide a before-and-after comparison around October 7, 2023.
Messing had already broken with the left once before in New York City's mayoral race, backing Andrew Cuomo over Zohran Mamdani and calling Mamdani an America-hating jihadist, according to Newsweek. She had reposted an Instagram meme using that language and urging New Yorkers to make the right choice by voting for Cuomo, who ultimately lost his bid against Mamdani after the Democratic socialist defeated him by 13 points in the primary, triggering Cuomo's entry into the race as an independent. Messing said at the time that New York needed someone with experience to restore safety, Newsweek reported.
Blakeman's Tax Pitch and Thin Policy Record
On the campaign trail, Blakeman has floated a plan to eliminate state income taxes for single filers earning $50,000 or less and joint filers earning $100,000 or less annually, which he says would amount to a $35 billion statewide tax cut, according to ABC7 New York. He has said he would cut funding for migrants and Medicaid to help pay for it. Of New York's 62 counties, 45 have average married-couple incomes under $100,000, meaning the plan would largely benefit rural communities.
But Politico reported that Blakeman's campaign website lacks a policy section, and that he has largely opted for attacks on Hochul and Mamdani rather than detailed proposals. The outlet noted he has offered relatively few specifics beyond the tax pitch. Blakeman has also described himself as a common-sense, pro-choice Republican and said New York utility bills run 70% higher than the national average, a claim made in comments to NY1.
Polling Picture Remains Murky
The state of the race itself is contested. A Siena poll cited by ABC7 showed Hochul with a nine-point lead, while Blakeman's own campaign has claimed that polling over the prior two months showed the race virtually tied. Separately, JNS reported that an August Siena University poll showed Blakeman narrowing Hochul's lead from 20 points in June to 10 points, and that a July Red Oak Strategic poll had him trailing by just four points. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in New York 47.6% to 22.6%, according to NY1's reporting.
Blakeman has drawn crossover support from some Democrats hoping to block Mamdani's influence in state politics; JNS interviewed half a dozen such voters, and former Queens City Councilman Bob Holden has urged Democrats to get behind Blakeman. President Trump has also endorsed Blakeman's bid. Mamdani, meanwhile, has said he plans to campaign alongside Hochul, telling ABC7 that he and the governor are aligned on the things that matter for working-class New Yorkers.
Scrutiny Over an Endorsement
Blakeman's campaign has faced its own controversy. He filmed an endorsement for Joel Anabilah-Azumah, a Republican and Conservative candidate challenging Democratic Rep. Yvette Clarke in Brooklyn, according to amNewYork. Anabilah-Azumah wrote on X in 2024 that the September 11 attacks were an inside job — a claim the National Institute of Standards and Technology has said is not supported by any corroborating evidence of explosives bringing down the World Trade Center towers.
