Gov. Hochul and Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman traded nasty barbs Tuesday night about immigration, high prices and President Trump in a gubernatorial debate that repeatedly got heated with Election Day looming in just three weeks and early voting in New York City beginning a week from Saturday.
Blakeman repeatedly pounded Hochul for what he called her soft policies on undocumented immigrants, whom he accused of being responsible for numerous violent crimes.
“You’ve invited criminals into our state. You give them free everything,” Blakeman charged.
Governor Kathy Hochul debates with Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman during the only scheduled debate ahead of the November New York gubernatorial election on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in New York. (Anna Connors/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
The governor responded by accusing Blakeman of blindly backing Trump’s harsh crackdown on undocumented immigrants. She trashed the Nassau County executive for backing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who shot and wounded a father in his car in the Marble Hill neighborhood in Upper Manhattan.
“He just said we’d be fine if ICE agents shoot into cars without knowing who’s inside,” Hochul said. “ICE is out of control.”
Governor Kathy Hochul and Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman face off in the only scheduled debate ahead of the November New York gubernatorial election on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in New York. (Anna Connors/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
Time after time, Hochul accused Blakeman of being a puppet for Trump, attacking him for backing Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods and the war in Iran, which she blamed for causing soaring inflation and energy prices.
“You’re the president of the fan club for Donald Trump,” she said. “The price of everything has gone up because of his policies.”
Referring to the trade war with Canada, the governor added: “Donald Trump declared war on one of our closest allies. Who does that?”
Blakeman insisted that he has some differences with Trump including on abortion rights.
“You want to talk about Donald Trump all the time because you don’t want to talk about your record,” Blakeman said.
Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman speaks during a debate with Governor Kathy Hochul in the only scheduled debate ahead of the November New York gubernatorial election on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in New York. (Anna Connors/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
Polls give Hochul a healthy lead as she vies for a second full four-year term, meaning their sole face-to-face clash offered perhaps the final high-stakes opportunity for Blakeman to change the trajectory of the contest.
Blakeman did succeeded in repeatedly putting Hochul on the defensive, although he failed to land an obvious knockout blow.
The hourlong debate was moderated by Errol Louis and Susan Arbetter. But they struggled at times to get a word in edgewise as both candidates tore into one another.
Democratic incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul and Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman face off in the only scheduled debate ahead of the November New York gubernatorial election on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in New York. (Anna Connors/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
It took Blakeman, who is serving a second term as Nassau County executive, about 40 minutes before he got around to hit Hochul for her warm relationship with Mayor Mamdani.
He defended his remarks to a Jewish audience that the mayor wouldn’t protect them if riots broke out in Jewish neighborhoods.
“Zohran Mamdani is an antisemite. He’s anti-Christian and I don’t think he has American values,” Blakeman said.
Well known for staying on message, Hochul boasted that she has sought to help New Yorkers keep a lid on soaring costs, a key issue for voters in one of the most expensive states in the nation.
She seemed to get under Blakeman’s skin by repeating “highest property taxes” about his stewardship of Nassau County during a lightning round of rapid-fire responses.
Governor Kathy Hochul and Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman face off in the only scheduled debate ahead of the November New York gubernatorial election on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in New York. (Anna Connors/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
Hochul proudly touted her new restrictions on data centers while noting that Blakeman and Trump support allowing more construction of the power- and water-guzzling facilities.
The GOP challenger responded by insisting that New York communities, especially upstate, should be free to make their own decisions on data centers.
The two candidates mostly agreed about the need to tighten state sexual assault laws in response to the Cornell University gang rape. But Blakeman accused Hochul of dropping the ball on bringing justice for the shocking 2024 attack.
“Where were you? You’re the governor of New York. You’re a trustee of the university. Shame on you,” Blakeman said.
Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman speaks during a debate with Governor Kathy Hochul in the only scheduled debate ahead of the November New York gubernatorial election on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in New York. (Anna Connors/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
Hochul, 68, a former Buffalo congresswoman, became governor after ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned in the face of serial sexual harassment allegations, which he has denied.
She ran an underwhelming campaign for a first full term in Albany in 2022, beating ex-Rep. Lee Zeldin by around 6% as Republicans made major inroads in many NYC suburbs.
But the governor has mounted a remarkable political comeback in recent years.
Hochul has mended her once-fractious relationship with progressives in NYC and statewide, a key of the Democratic coalition, and has forged a close partnership with Mayor Mamdani after years of tension with ex-Mayor Eric Adams.
Blakeman, 71, who won the county executive race in an upset in 2021 and won reelection in 2025, hopes to replicate and improve on Zeldin’s electoral strategy to get within striking distance of Hochul in the closing days of the race.
He needs to run up the score on Long Island and other suburbs while winning upstate and limiting the damage in NYC.
Most pundits say that will be a tough task and even GOP loyalists say he needs to start by doing some serious damage to Hochul in the debate.