{"id":264830,"date":"2026-06-12T19:48:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T19:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/264830\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T19:48:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T19:48:09","slug":"gop-ny-governor-candidate-under-fire-for-anti-lgbtq-ties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/264830\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP NY governor candidate under fire for anti-LGBTQ+ ties"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Republican<\/a> candidate seeking to govern one of the nation’s most influential states is facing growing criticism from LGBTQ<\/a>+ advocates and Democratic<\/a> officials over his ties to politicians<\/a> and activists who have opposed marriage equality<\/a>, supported restrictions on LGBTQ+ visibility, and made remarks condemned as homophobic.<\/p>\n

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a close ally of President Donald Trump<\/a> who is running for governor of New York<\/a>, has increasingly drawn scrutiny over campaign appearances and political relationships with conservative figures whose views on LGBTQ+ rights have sparked controversy.<\/p>\n

The criticism comes as LGBTQ+ rights remain a central flashpoint in American politics and as Republican candidates across the country continue to campaign on issues involving transgender<\/a> rights, school policies, and public displays of LGBTQ+ identity.<\/p>\n

Related: Kathy Hochul vetos financial protection bill introduced after murders of gay men<\/a><\/p>\n

If elected, Blakeman would lead a state that helped shape the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, legalized same-sex marriages years before the U.S. Supreme Court<\/a> did, and recently expanded constitutional protections for LGBTQ+ people through a voter-approved Equal Rights Amendment in 2024.<\/p>\n

Democrats<\/a> argue that Blakeman’s political alliances raise questions about how he would approach those issues as governor.<\/p>\n

“‘100% MAGA’ Bruce Blakeman is proving why he’s Donald Trump’s pick for New York governor: he’d rather fan the flames of bigotry, hatred, and straight up homophobia than stand up to Trump and MAGA,” Hochul campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said in a statement to The Advocate. “Governor Kathy Hochul is fighting for the rights, freedoms, and dignity every New Yorker deserves, and she’ll never back down to the far-right’s attacks on LGBTQ+ New Yorkers.”<\/p>\n

Among the relationships drawing scrutiny is Blakeman’s recent appearance with Tennessee<\/a> Republican Rep. Andy Ogles, who sparked bipartisan backlash after posting that “homosexuality has no place in America.” Ogles later deleted the post and blamed a staff member. He has also previously called for revisiting marriage equality after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.<\/p>\n

Critics have also highlighted Blakeman’s campaign appearances alongside Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed the state’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law, and Florida Rep. Randy Fine, who played a key role in advancing that legislation and has backed efforts to prohibit Pride<\/a> flags on government property.<\/p>\n

In April, Blakeman appeared at a Manhattan Republican gala alongside Ogles, who was honored by the Metropolitan Republican Club. According to Politico<\/a>, Ogles has said that “Muslims don’t belong in American society” and has led efforts targeting New York City<\/a> Mayor Zohran Mamdani, including calls to denaturalize and deport him. Blakeman’s campaign declined to comment to Politico on Ogles’ statements or their appearance together.<\/p>\n

The Advocate contacted Blakeman’s campaign seeking comment on his positions on marriage equality, LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination protections, transgender rights, and policies affecting LGBTQ+ youth, as well as on criticism of his political alliances. The campaign did not respond.<\/p>\n

Related: Newly elected N.Y. State Sen. Erik Bottcher: state must be a bulwark against Trump<\/a><\/p>\n

Democrats have pointed to Blakeman’s embrace of the New York State Conservative Party, which historically opposed marriage equality and campaigned against New York’s Equal Rights Amendment, as well as his ties to Long Island Loud Majority, a conservative activist group that has protested LGBTQ+-themed books and displays in schools and libraries. The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated the organization an anti-government extremist group, citing what it describes as anti-LGBTQ+ activity.<\/p>\n

State Assemblymember Tony Simone said those associations should concern voters.<\/p>\n

“Bruce Blakeman thinks he can hide behind far-right homophobes in his run for governor \u2013 but New Yorkers see through his extremist agenda,” Simone said in a statement to The Advocate. “Blakeman’s campaigning with politicians who want to reverse marriage equality, ban pride flags, and erase LGBTQ+ people from public life. New Yorkers deserve better than a governor who would hand the keys to our rights over to bigots.”<\/p>\n

State Sen. Erik Bottcher<\/a>, who is gay, similarly highlighted the race as a test of New York’s commitment to LGBTQ+ equality.<\/p>\n

“Pride Month is a celebration of how far we’ve come, but it’s also a reminder of what’s at stake,” Bottcher said in a statement to The Advocate. “Bruce Blakeman has repeatedly aligned himself with the same Trump-style extremism that attacks LGBTQ+ people, targets our youth, and seeks to roll back rights that generations fought to secure.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Republican candidate seeking to govern one of the nation’s most influential states is facing growing criticism from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264831,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1626,22775,895,9,11,10,49,51,50],"class_list":["post-264830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-bruce-blakeman","tag-erik-bottcher","tag-governor-kathy-hochul","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264830","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=264830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}