New York Republicans have come up with a blueprint for how they might win statewide office for the first time in more than two decades: Embrace President Donald Trump and make a boogeyman out of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.<\/p>\n
The party unanimously chose Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman as its nominee for governor Wednesday, a career politician who\u2019s twice won his purple Long Island district and maintains close ties to Trump.<\/p>\n
Blakeman in his acceptance speech said New York had been overtaken by the \u201clunatic left,\u201d and vowed to always have the president\u2019s back. He said that as governor he would cut taxes, go after violent criminals and ban transgender athletes from youth sports to \u201cprotect your daughters and your granddaughters from being bullied by biological males.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aWe can make New York affordable again,\u201d he said, \u201cand we can make it safe again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blakeman faces a tough path to the governor\u2019s office. Nearly half the state\u2019s registered voters are Democrats, and a Republican hasn\u2019t won statewide office since 2002. Trump\u2019s approval ratings in his home state are sinking<\/a> and Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s favorability appears to be ascending<\/a>.<\/p>\n Yet the hundreds of delegates who descended on the party\u2019s convention at the historic Garden City Hotel on Long Island this week were energized, predicting this was the year they\u2019d take back power.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aWith Bruce and his record heading our ticket this year, we won’t just win statewide offices,\u201d New York Republican Party Chair Ed Cox said. \u201cWe will defend our Republican congressional seats and win seats from Democrats.\u201d<\/p>\n Republicans argue the policies supported by Democrats in Albany make New York unsafe and unaffordable. State Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt \u200acalled for party unity as members selected their nominees, telling delegates to \u201cnever lose sight of who the actual opponent is.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is the face of the new mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is Gov. Kathy Hochul.\u201d<\/p>\n Delegates appointed biotech entrepreneur Joseph Hernandez as their nominee for comptroller. Hernandez ran unopposed for the nomination and promised to be a \u201cwatchdog, not a lap dog for Albany.\u201d He will likely face off in November against Comptroller Tom DiNapoli<\/a>, who\u2019s running for a fifth full term.<\/p>\n Hernandez, a Cuban immigrant whose family fled the Castro regime, also threw a jab at Mamdani, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aI know a communist when I see a communist,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cHe’s a communist.\u201d<\/p>\n Republicans\u2019 efforts to tie statewide races to Mamdani may be complicated by the president\u2019s seeming admiration<\/a> for the young mayor. Trump said he was confident that Mamdani \u201ccan do a good job\u201d after the two met in the Oval Office in November. Mamdani has said<\/a> they\u2019ve stayed in touch over text.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, Republicans heaped praise on the president. Former federal prosecutor Saritha Komatireddy, the party\u2019s candidate for attorney general, said she\u2019d end the legal attacks against Trump by New York Attorney General Letitia James.<\/p>\n James \u201c\u200ais a far-left radical, a politician who cares more about setting criminals free than protecting New Yorkers,\u201d Komatireddy said. \u201cShe went after President Trump. She went after lawful gun owners. She went after our state troopers and police.\u201d<\/p>\n The three-day gathering served as something of a coronation for Blakeman. Throngs of delegates walked the hotel halls in bright red \u201cBlakeman for Governor\u201d shirts and volunteers passed out branded coffee mugs and tote bags.<\/p>\n Former Gov. George Pataki, the last Republican to win statewide election, told reporters he believed that \u201cBlakeman can win, even against all the odds.\u201d<\/p>\n Pataki said Blakeman\u2019s record in Nassau County, where he partnered<\/a> with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and kept property taxes steady, would have statewide appeal. \u201cThe Democratic Party in New York state has been captured by far-left radicals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Some political observers believe Blakeman is uniquely positioned to excite the Republican base while appearing moderate enough to attract independent voters.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aThe county executive has managed to be a Trump supporter, be MAGA, without a lot of the baggage that comes with that in New York, at least so far\u201d said Chapin Fay, founder of Lighthouse Public Affairs.<\/p>\n Blakeman this week announced Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood as his pick for lieutenant governor, after Fulton County Sheriff Richard Giardino withdrew<\/a> from contention. Right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer had blasted Giardino in a weekend social media post<\/a>, pointing out he\u2019d once filed to run against Trump in the New Hampshire primary.<\/p>\n