Republican Bruce Blakeman says he’s glad Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul is about to hit the campaign trail with Mayor Zohran Mamdani. He thinks it’ll help him win the governor’s race, not hurt him.
Speaking Thursday outside the Crosstown Diner in the Bronx while accepting the endorsement of former Bronx Democratic Councilman and Assemblyman Steve Kaufman, Blakeman called the pairing a “big boost” to his campaign.
“I think that the more Kathy Hochul and Zohran Mamdani campaign together the more likely it is that I will have not only a victory but a very very astounding victory,” Blakeman said.
Hochul, running for a second four-year term, is set to appear with the democratic socialist mayor on Friday, right before early voting opens ahead of the November 3 election.
“Zohran Mamdani has attacked me. The more he attacks me, the more Democrats who come over to support me. The more independent voters who come over to support me,” said Blakeman, the Nassau County executive.
“So I just hope Zohran Mamdani is real active for the next 11 days with Kathy Hochul campaigning together all around the state. I think it’s a big boost to my campaign,” he said. “Thank you to both of them for appearing together. Keep doing it!” he added, pumping his fist.
Not everyone agrees Mamdani is a drag on Hochul’s ticket. Political strategists note Mamdani is popular in deep-blue New York City, where Hochul needs strong Democratic turnout to win statewide. The Hochul campaign pushed back by pointing to comments from a Republican strategist tied to Blakeman’s side.
“Mamdani is one of the most popular politicians on planet earth right now,” Chapin Fay, who works for the pro-Blakeman Strong and Safe New York Super PAC, told Politico after Mamdani met with President Trump at Gracie Mansion last month.
President Trump’s friendly posture toward Mamdani has scrambled Republican attempts to cast the mayor as a boogeyman in the race.
Mamdani’s campaign pointed to a Quinnipiac University poll showing Hochul leading Blakeman 55% to 41%, a 14-point spread. Blakeman dismissed it as “another phony poll” undercounting his support, saying Republican internal polling has Hochul ahead by just 4 points.
A Moderate Democrat Breaks Ranks
Kaufman, who calls himself a moderate, said he’s backing Blakeman because he believes his own party has lost its way.
“If Bruce does not get elected the acceleration of decline and fall of New York City and New York state will become like a downward slide. The Democratic party, I’m sad to say, has been a house of horrors. A house of hatred,” Kaufman said.
“There’s no room for moderate people and moderation within its ranks,” he said. “This is something we all have to repudiate whether you’re Republican, conservative or Democrat. We have to yank our civilization back to the middle. The Democratic party has become the Socialist Communist Party of America and it breaks my heart to see that.”
Kaufman also criticized Hochul for opposing natural gas drilling as utility bills climb statewide. “They had billions upon billions of dollars for illegal aliens but not for the average person living here,” he said.
Crosstown Diner owner Billy Tsibidis, 47, said his electric bill runs $15,000 a month.
“We have to sell well over 1,000 burgers just to pay our utility bill,” Tsibidis said. “Kathy Hochul and the state, man they are killing us here in New York. It’s crazy! They’re anti-business! It’s almost like they’re trying to drive all the little businesses out of the state. I don’t get it.”
Kaufman also brought up Hochul’s remark from two years ago that black kids from the Bronx don’t know what computers are. “This is your governor! She’s an idiot!” he said.
