Republican N.Y. gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman takes aim at Mayor Mamdani on the campaign trail
Republican New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman is deploying a campaign strategy that echoes the national GOP playbook — attack Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
At a press conference at Penn Station on Wednesday, Blakeman aimed to appeal to voters who may not be happy with Mamdani's tax-the-rich policies.
"If he was intentionally doing things to make the city less safe or if he was intentionally destroying the economy of the city, I would give him incremental discipline to get him to behave," Blakeman said.
When asked what he meant by "incremental discipline," Blakeman said it would mean no more money for the city unless Mamdani "behaves in a way that I think is appropriate, and he stops the antisemitic rhetoric, the anti-American rhetoric and the anti-capitalism rhetoric."
His comments come as a new poll for a pro-Blakeman Super PAC found the race between him and Gov. Kathy Hochul tightening and voters unhappy. According to the poll, 33% say New York is headed in the right direction, and 57% say it's on the wrong track.
Meanwhile, Hochul visited the Buffalo Bills training camp, chatting with fans and huddling with the team.
A campaign spokesman made it clear she intends to tie Blakeman to President Trump, saying, "Blakeman lets Trump's illegal tariffs raise prices, lets unaccountable ICE agents abuse their power, and says he'll 'cut Medicaid in half' after Trump kicked nearly half a million New Yorkers off their care."
"Can Bruce Blakeman make Mamdani the piñata, the rallying cry, to get people out to vote for him? By tying Mamdani to the governor is going to be one of the most important strategies for the Republicans going into November," political analyst J.C. Polanco said. "It's going to be all about turnout."
