(NEW YORK) — Bruce Blakeman, the Republican county executive of Nassau County in New York, announced Tuesday that he will run for governor of the Empire State.
His announcement sets up a potentially contentious primary against U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, in a primary that now pits two major allies of President Donald Trump against each other in what was already a challenging race for Republicans.
“We want to put New York first. 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,” Blakeman said in an appearance on Fox News on Tuesday morning announcing his campaign.
Blakeman was first elected as Nassau County Executive in 2021 after previously serving on the Hempstead Town Council and as a commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
He received some attention in recent years for signing a county law in 2024 banning using masks to hide one’s identity, and a separate one that banned transgender people from participating in women’s sports at places owned by the county.
Any Republican candidate could face a steep challenge winning statewide in New York, which voted for Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris for president in 2024 by around 13 percentage points – although that marked a rightward shift from 2020, when then-Vice President Joe Biden won the state by around 20 percentage points.
Blakeman, asked on Fox News if a Republican in New York has a chance to become governor, pointed to his success in winning in a county where Democrats outnumber Republicans as a sign of his appeal among “crossover” Democrats and among different groups. According to data from the New York State Board of Elections, Nassau County had around 70,000 more active registered Democratic voters than Republican voters as of Nov. 1.
His entrance into the race comes around a month after Stefanik, a close ally of Trump, announced her own run for governor and collected several endorsements, including from local county Republican groups and the chairman of the New York Republican Party.
The winner of the Republican primary could end up taking on incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is running for reelection and has made combatting Trump a major focus in recent months. Hochul faces her current lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado, in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.
Bernadette Breslin, a spokesperson for Elise Stefanik’s campaign, called Blakeman “an early Christmas present” for Hochul and said Blakeman is getting in the way of “Republicans’ best chance to win.”
“Elise is the strongest candidate against Kathy Hochul by a long shot. Elise has outrun President Trump on the ballot by more than any Republican in New York State including Bruce,” Breslin wrote. “Elise has led the most effective attacks on the Worst Governor in America Kathy Hochul as Bruce Blakeman has worked overtime to torpedo fellow Republicans.”
Trump has a strong relationship with Stefanik but has not made an endorsement in the governor’s race.
Asked if he’d make an endorsement on Monday as reports about Blakeman’s bid circulated, he told reporters, “I’ll think about it. But he’s great. And she’s great. They’re both great people. We have a lot of great people in the Republican Party.”
Blakeman, asked about Trump’s comments, downplayed any equivocation — saying the president does not need to endorse for now — while praising the president for his work on the economy.
“Well, I don’t think the president has to make a decision now — let’s see how it plays out,” he said.
“But let me tell you something, he’s done more for America in the last 11 months than any president in my lifetime. He’s done a great job with the economy. He’s going out now — he’s going to be in Pennsylvania today, talking about economic development, creating prosperity,” Blakeman said. “Those are the same things that I want to do in New York State. So I cherish his friendship and I appreciate his leadership.”
Hochul, meanwhile, wasted no time in tying Blakeman to Trump.
“Bruce Blakeman is another MAGA cheerleader running to do Donald Trump’s bidding in New York — and raise your costs. Not on my watch,” she wrote on X on Tuesday.
At an event on Monday, she called out both Blakeman and Stefanik, telling reporters, “Let’s see how they out-MAGA each other in a primary.”
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