Nassau Exec Bruce Blakeman to announce run for governor, sources say

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is poised to announce he is running for governor as soon as Tuesday, according to four sources with knowledge of the matter.

"He’ll be announcing tomorrow," said one Republican who asked not to be named before it is official. Another Republican said Blakeman’s campaign message will be “affordability, safety and putting New York first.”

The move would put Blakeman in a Republican fight with North Country congresswoman Elise Stefanik for the right to challenge Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Blakeman had been touring the state to gauge support for a gubernatorial bid following his big reelection win in November – one of the few Republican bright spots in New York in this year’s election.

When he began his tour, Blakeman contended he is the strongest candidate for the party -- despite many state Republicans lining up already behind Stefanik. Both are strong allies of President Donald Trump, who has never won in New York State.

"Experience, record, qualifications and as I’ve said I’ve run a county that’s larger than 10 states in population," Blakeman said about what he called his stronger qualifications. "Also, I have an ability to reach into communities that Republicans traditionally haven’t been able to reach into. If you can’t do that, you can’t win statewide office."

Blakeman staff didn’t return messages Monday.

Trump hasn’t endorsed anyone in the race and, when questioned Monday, stayed out of the fray.

“I’ll have to think about it,” Trump said. “They’re both great people.”

A Republican source said Blakeman could be a stronger statewide candidate than Stefanik because he is pro-choice and “strikes a more moderate chord” than Stefanik, giving him a better shot at swing voters. The Nassau executive also could do more to help Long Island Republican congressional candidates, supporters have said.

Stefanik, of Schuylerville, has secured the endorsement of state Republican Chairman Ed Cox and county-level Republican leaders, though such endorsements haven’t prevented GOP gubernatorial primaries, lately in 2022.

The Stefanik campaign issued a statement blasting their potential Nassau rival.

In an email, Stefanik campaign spokeswoman Bernadette Breslin said Blakeman “has no shot,” and his bid “blows up the best opportunity in a generation” for Republicans, and was “putting his ego first.”

Hochul, when asked by reporters, indicated she would welcome a GOP primary.

"If there’s a Republican primary, it makes it much more entertaining for me," the governor said at a nanotech event in Albany. "Let’s let him go at it. Let’s see how they out-MAGA each other in the primary. No, it doesn't matter which Trump cheerleader decides to run against me -- the narrative is the same."

The latest Siena College poll said Hochul has a 20-point lead over Stefanik. The November survey didn't ask about Hochul versus Blakeman. Back in July, a Siena survey gave Hochul a 23-point leader over Stefanik; 25 over Blakeman.

Blakeman has been a statewide candidate before -- way back in 1998 when he ran unsuccessfully for state comptroller. He also had a run for Congress and U.S. Senate and had served on the Hempstead town board and Nassau County Legislature. 

By far, his biggest electoral success came in 2021 when he edged out incumbent Democrat Laura Curran to become Nassau County executive. From that narrow victory, he posted a much bigger win last month -- cruising 12 points ahead of Democrat Seth Koslow -- a victory in a politically divided county that some Republicans said shows Blakeman can be a better statewide candidate.

Newsday's Laura Figueroa Hernandez and Robert Brodsky contributed to this story.

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy