Blakeman turns to Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood as running mate

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has picked Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood to be his lieutenant governor running mate.

Hood has been sheriff since 2018 in Madison County, east of Syracuse, according to a bio on the department's website. He was previously with the Syracuse Police Department for 22 years.

Republicans are gathering this week for their convention in Garden City, where they are expected to designate Blakeman to lead the ticket against Gov. Kathy Hochul, who was picked as the Democrats' designee at their convention last week.

Hood appeared onstage with Blakeman at a rally Monday night.

Hood was born in Oneida and is a lifelong Madison County resident, according to the bio. He has a bachelor's degree from Springfield College in Massachusetts, where he played Division 2 college football.

On Sunday, another upstate sheriff turned down Blakeman’s offer to be his running mate as the GOP candidate for lieutenant governor late Sunday, that sheriff told Newsday.

Fulton County Sheriff Richard Giardino went through a vetting and interview process last week, with Blakeman officially asking him to consider a bid for state office on Saturday, Giardino said. He e-mailed Blakeman turning down the offer late Sunday, with a text confirming the decision Monday morning.

"I was very honored and flattered," Giardino, 67, said. "I just felt that the amount of time necessary to support the ticket would take away from my abilities to be sheriff."

Blakeman, who announced his run for governor in December, lags behind his Democratic rival and incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul in a New York Times/Siena Research Institute poll. He also trails Hochul in fundraising dollars.