Blakeman: Switch on running mate won't slow momentum

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman on Tuesday sought to brush aside a trip up over a running mate in his race for governor, saying it doesn’t get the Republican convention off on bad footing and that the team is energetic to take on Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Blakeman said that going through several possible running mates before settling on Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood wasn’t unusual. He said a decision by Fulton County Sheriff Richard Giardino to accept, then at the last minute decline an invitation to be his running mate didn’t disrupt his momentum. And he said Hochul herself has had far more serious problems with her lieutenants.

"There were some very good people that we talked to that said that because of a family circumstance, because of a health circumstance, because of a job circumstance, that they took themselves out of the running for it," Blakeman said at a news conference at the end of the first day of the convention at The Garden City Hotel.

"I completely understand that. But there were a lot more people that wanted the position of running for lieutenant governor, and Todd was one of them," Blakeman said. "He was very, very energetic about it, and we had a great meeting talking about issues, and he came highly recommended."

Blakeman was speaking directly on the matter just a day after Giardino withdrew his name. He cited concerns about being able to do his job as sheriff and run for statewide office simultaneously. But he also acknowledged that the Blakeman campaign raised questions about Giardino briefly registering to run for president in New Hampshire in 2024 — a detail criticized by far-right activists with ties to the White House.

Blakeman on Tuesday also told reporters that Giardino has Crohn’s disease and was concerned about the grind of a campaign.

But he wasn’t the only one approached to be running mate — another upstate sheriff and two upstate Assembly members also were considered.

Blakeman shrugged it off, saying: "You want to interview everybody. You want to talk to a lot of different people."

He pivoted to note that Hochul’s first lieutenant governor, Brian Benjamin, was indicted in a federal campaign probe — though the charges were eventually dropped. And her second, current Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, had a break with the governor and decided to challenge her in a primary before ending his campaign Tuesday.

Hood, Blakeman said, would complement his campaign and bring strong law enforcement credentials. Madison County — like Nassau — has what’s called a "287-g" agreement with federal immigration officials that allows for the deputization of local law enforcement to perform immigration tasks.

Blakeman didn’t say that was specifically a factor in choosing Hood, but he said they agree on "most, if not all, issues."

"I have made the state safer. Todd has made the state safer," Blakeman said, referring to cooperation with federal officials. "And I think that's what people want."

The party formally will designate Blakeman and Hood as its choices on Wednesday. One of the keynote speakers at the convention will be George Pataki — governor from 1995 to 2006 and the last Republican to win a statewide contest in New York.

Blakeman said he’s the one who can snap the Democratic winning streak.

"I'm a person who is going to pay attention to all the people of the whole state, from Montauk up through Jamestown all the way across to Plattsburgh and all down through the whole state," he said. "I'm a person that, as governor, I'm going to care about them, by putting New Yorkers first."

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy