{"id":261122,"date":"2026-06-09T22:07:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T22:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/261122\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T22:07:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T22:07:08","slug":"news-12-bronx-michael-blake-talks-affordability-and-representation-in-bid-to-unseat-ritchie-torres-in-ny-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/261122\/","title":{"rendered":"News 12 | Bronx | Michael Blake Talks Affordability And Representation In Bid To Unseat Ritchie Torres In Ny 15"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-rich-text-paragraph=\"true\">It\u2019s primary season in the Bronx, and one of the most closely watched races is in New York\u2019s 15th Congressional District. Former Assemblyman <a data-rich-text-hyperlink=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bing.com\/ck\/a?!&amp;&amp;p=9625e07c0855d3942ed47466c91a1ad74a091b25d968b3528419e8685d1d1da2JmltdHM9MTc3OTg0MDAwMA&amp;ptn=3&amp;ver=2&amp;hsh=4&amp;fclid=3eb0fff2-9579-67a9-37e9-e8af94826679&amp;psq=michale+blake+congress&amp;u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubWljaGFlbGJsYWtlZm9yY29uZ3Jlc3MuY29tLw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Michael Blake<\/a> is challenging incumbent <a data-rich-text-hyperlink=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/torres.nyc\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Rep. Ritchie Torres<\/a>, arguing the borough needs new leadership.<\/p>\n<p data-rich-text-paragraph=\"true\">Blake is seeking to represent the district he grew up in, positioning himself as an alternative to Torres.<\/p>\n<p data-rich-text-paragraph=\"true\">\u201cWe need to lower the price of rent, groceries and gas,\u201d Blake said, adding that he believes the ongoing conflict in Israel is contributing to rising costs. \u201cWe have to end this war, a war that Richie supports.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-rich-text-paragraph=\"true\">When asked what keeps bringing him back to public service, Blake said voters are looking for someone who will stand up for them.<\/p>\n<p data-rich-text-paragraph=\"true\">On the campaign trail, Blake says affordability dominates nearly every conversation.<\/p>\n<p data-rich-text-paragraph=\"true\">\u201cIt\u2019s too expensive,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have people trying to figure out the side of between groceries and gas in 2026\u2026 What keeps moving back is that the people want something different.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-rich-text-paragraph=\"true\">Asked how he would balance advocating human rights abroad while addressing urgent needs at home, Blake said the two are connected. \u201cThey\u2019re one and the same,\u201d he said. \u201cAs an immigrant, I don\u2019t get to turn off my feelings on these issues\u2026 As a U.S. member of Congress, it is your job to bring changes here and also make sure what\u2019s happening internationally impacts us here for the better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-rich-text-paragraph=\"true\">For voters still deciding whether to trust him with the role, Blake pointed to his long ties to the community.<\/p>\n<p data-rich-text-paragraph=\"true\">\u201cYou want to protect immigrants and reject ICE. You vote for Michael Blake,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p data-rich-text-paragraph=\"true\">Early voting begins June 13, and Election Day is June 23. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s primary season in the Bronx, and one of the most closely watched races is in New York\u2019s&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-261122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}