Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman accepted the Republican Party’s nomination for New York governor on Wednesday at the GOP convention in Garden City.<\/p>\n
As he continues his battle against incumbent Kathy Hochul<\/a>, Blakeman is sticking to a message that frames as a mission to save the Empire State.<\/p>\n “The lunatic left is running the state,” Blakeman said.<\/p>\n Blakeman vowed to provide “better schools, better roads, better hospitals” and money “for infrastructure to aid our citizens and provide tax relief to New Yorkers who are crushed by high costs for too long.”<\/p>\n Blakeman has tapped Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood as his lieutenant governor, after his first pick, Richard Giardino, a fellow upstate sheriff, bowed out.<\/p>\n “I see the consequences of a failed one-party rule. Let’s be honest, New York is less safe and more expensive than it should be,” Hood said.<\/p>\n Former Gov. George Pataki lays out a strategy \u00a0<\/p>\n Blakeman is facing uphill battle in a blue state<\/a>, but a game plan was offered by former Gov. George Pataki, who served three terms against all odds and is the last Republican to win state-wide office.<\/p>\n “We are going to win this race with Democrats and independents,” Pataki said.<\/p>\n Pataki said the case has to be made to all voters who are fed up with taxes and soft-on-crime policies.<\/p>\n “The people of this state are going to continue to have taxes that are too high, quality of life that’s not what it should be, and too many of our friends leaving the state,” Pataki said. “You can win. You need a lot of Democrats to do that.”<\/p>\n “The odds may be against us, but Democrats are fed up. The party of Bill Clinton, John Kennedy doesn’t exist any more. It’s a socialist party,” Nassau County GOP Chairman Joseph Cairo said.<\/p>\n “The race will be tough. He was 25 points down as county executive, [but] he won that,” former Long Island Congressman Peter King said.<\/p>\n Defying the odds again will require more than firing up the GOP base.<\/p>\n Allegiance to President Trump won’t fly in NYS, Democrats say<\/p>\n