'Fundraising and foot soldiers': What Nassau's GOP is bringing across NY as it fights to get Bruce Blakeman elected

Two weeks before Republican Bruce Blakeman was reelected Nassau County executive, nearly 100 women wearing red occupied the county's legislative chambers in Mineola in a counterprotest to one held by supporters of his Democratic opponent earlier that day. 

Some were local voters and advocates. Others were county employees who had received a cryptic email message in their official government inbox from the assistant to the county attorney, a Blakeman appointee and longtime Republican judge, urging them to attend and "wear something red."

It was unclear from the email whether anyone would face consequences if they didn't attend and, after Newsday inquiries, the Blakeman administration swiftly said they spoke to the employee "to ensure that the lines between public service and self-expression remain clear."

The display underscored the local loyalty to Blakeman and his political party, providing a glimpse into the ways county employees help mobilize campaigns in Nassau, particularly for Republicans who control nearly all municipal offices. As Blakeman runs for governor — with a fraction of the campaign dollars of Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul in a notoriously blue state — he will need to breed loyalty across 62 counties to deliver his message of low taxes, public safety and economic opportunity, experts say. 

"The only way he can win is if he can replicate the organizational strength that the Nassau and Suffolk Republican parties bring to any campaign — fundraising and foot soldiers," said Lawrence Levy, executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University. "There is no strength for the statewide GOP. There are a lot of strong local organizations but it lacks the critical mass for fundraising, for door-knocking and getting out its message."

Next month, state Republicans will convene at The Garden City Hotel where Blakeman is expected to get the official nomination from the party. He would be the second consecutive Long Island Republican candidate to challenge Hochul, the presumptive Democratic nominee, after Lee Zeldin, a former congressman from Shirley who lost in 2022 by about 6 percentage points..  

While the populous downstate region is essential to electing any governor, Republicans have found a reliable pool on Long Island with state leaders acknowledging the strong, Nassau County political infrastructure. His hard-right stance on immigration, face masks, transgender athletes and the creation of a citizens' militia has grabbed headlines, which may help to excite a MAGA base but not play well with the independents he will need to court, experts have said. 

'All over the state'

Voters should expect Blakeman to be "all over the state," said Nassau County Republican Committee Chairman Joseph Cairo, who is confident he can deploy much of the Nassau GOP campaign model in other counties.

"Not every county is going to be able to do what we do, but where they can they will," Cairo said. 

Blakeman won by an overwhelming margin of more than 35,000 votes last November and attracted many of the county's swing voters despite Democrats' enrollment edge. He and the Nassau County Republican Committee built on successes of a post-pandemic "red wave" that in the election cycles since secured Republican control of Nassau's three towns and two cities.

Republicans also won all top offices in Nassau, losing only one seat on the county legislature even as Democrats in the state and nationally saw major gains. 

Blakeman's county executive reelection campaign spent $4 million on television and streaming ads, $1 million on direct mailings and $205,000 on digital and social media ads, according to Nassau GOP officials. At the same time, they used their tried-and-true formula: filling Long Island Rail Road parking lots, hosting free summer events like a popular concert series in the county-owned park and deploying hundreds of volunteers throughout communities using an established network built up over more than five decades.

With a ground game of mostly local volunteers, the campaign only had to spend $30,000 on "get-out-the-vote" efforts, according to figures provided by the party.

"No doubt Nassau County does it at a scale that is exceptionally unique but we are going to be doing the very same things, not only for Bruce Blakeman but for our entire ticket," said Erie County Republican Committee Chairman Michael Kracker. "I think the fact that Bruce came up through such a strong party organization, he's going to have an appreciation for how important engaging with county Republican parties across the state is going to be to his success."

There are about 25 towns and cities in the western New York region, including Buffalo, with a total population of just under 1 million people. The county Republican organization has about 700 committee members, said Kracker, who also serves as the upstate vice chairman of the state Republican Committee. 

In New York City, Bronx County Republican Committee Chairman Michael Rendino said efforts to grow the organization have been underway and WhatsApp groups in various ethnic communities will help bring more people to Blakeman events this year. 

The Bronx GOP has 1,800 county committee members across 10 Assembly districts "and in places where Republicans are few and far between," Rendino said. He said the committee's participation in local civic organizations has also grown, whether they are through Dominican or Albanian group meetups or a coalition of firefighters. 

"Voters talk to each other differently than we speak to them so it's through these groups and through these connections that we have been growing the party in the Bronx," Rendino said. 

Sustaining loyalty

Jay Jacobs, chairman of the state and Nassau County Democratic Committee, said any successes by GOP campaigns have been aided by a "highly politicized" practice of rewarding loyalty with jobs and government contracts, which can't be replicated in other counties as Blakeman's gubernatorial campaign can't call on the same volunteers his county executive race did.

"Anything you want to do — even if you want a job at one of the county parks — everything has to do with your loyalty and your registration with the Republican Party," Jacobs said. "All of the departments, the special districts in the towns, they are all staffed by committeeman of the Republican Party. They are not only expected to come out and vote but they are expected to bring their friends and family out too." 

Jacobs acknowledged that Democrats also hire fellow party members but they don't "create jobs" for their friends and relatives. 

But Rendino said Blakeman proved a commitment to showing up where there are pockets of city Republicans when he attended a local fundraiser in the Bronx neighborhood of Throgs Neck to speak to a gathering of about 100 people last summer. 

"He came in and I think he was a little taken aback because he's used to the Nassau County big machine and he saw this room of Bronx people, very diverse, and very enthusiastic about him. He got up on stage and I was wondering about how he was going to connect," Rendino said. "By the end he had swept them off their feet."

Still, pointing to the county attorney's office, Jacobs contends the audience for the Nassau GOP is partly built into local government. 

"They know how to reward their friends and punish their enemies," he added. "They are good at it and they are not shy about it."

By Candice Ferrette

candice.ferrette@newsday.comcandiceferrette

Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.