Fresh off his impressive 14-point victory this past November, recently reelected Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has thrown his hat in the ring for the governor’s race in 2026.
His move has resulted in shockwaves throughout the state and national Republican parties.
Just weeks ago, it was assumed that upstate Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-Plattsburgh) was going to have a clear path to the nomination and give incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul a scare in the November election. But now, it will no longer be a cakewalk for Stefanik in grabbing the nomination.
The upstate pol zoomed to national attention with her effective dismantling of woke college professors who were ignoring antisemitism on their campuses. She also played the loyal soldier in withdrawing her nomination as President Trump’s selection for UN ambassador when it became clear her vote was going to be needed in the House to pass Trump‘s agenda.
One would think Trump owed her one. But the president is remaining neutral thus far in the Stefanik/Blakeman primary. Blakeman has cozied up to Trump in many ways, including his agreement to work very closely with ICE in its efforts to deport illegal aliens.
Stefanik’s advantages are her national prominence, her deep war chest of $11 million, and her ability to raise even more.
Blakeman can talk up his large victory among independents in the heavily populated swing area of Long Island, which has the two most effective Republican committees in the state in pulling out the vote.
Blakeman can also tout four years of governance without a tax increase and working hard along with the administration to make our region safer by enforcing our immigration laws.
What was enormously interesting was to read the hatchet job that Newsday did against Blakeman, calling his first term a failure. It’s hard to call Blakeman‘s fiscal record a failure when he’s managed to freeze taxes for four years while Suffolk County has been raising them every year, including a huge 7% increase this year.
Newsday criticized Blakeman as well for his support of ICE, his ban on masks for protests and prohibiting biological men from playing in women’s sports in county facilities. We say good for Blakeman on all three issues.
There’ll be a lot of attention on this primary, which should actually help boost the name recognition and give momentum to the winner. But, regardless of who wins the primary, reality must kick in at some point that it is extraordinarily hard, almost impossible, for a Republican to win a statewide race in New York these days.
Lee Zeldin ran a near-perfect race four years ago with the wind at his back against a poor incumbent and still lost by six points in a year when Republicans had an out-of-power midterm advantage.
2026 is already sizing up to be a major blue wave that will result in an automatic 10-point swing to the Dems before the campaign even starts.
Meanwhile, New York City is as radical left as it’s ever been, while upstate, which was once a Republican stronghold, has seen its white middle-class Republicans flee the state and been replaced with far more liberal immigrants and individuals who are now reliant on social services or a government job or grant to get by.
So, enjoy the fireworks in the primary, but either way, it’s going to be an uphill battle for the winner in the general election in this very blue state.