{"id":387758,"date":"2026-10-30T10:58:31","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T10:58:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/387758\/"},"modified":"2026-10-30T10:58:31","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T10:58:31","slug":"meet-bruce-blakeman-the-ny-pol-taking-on-dem-gov-hochul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/387758\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Bruce Blakeman, the NY pol taking on Dem Gov. Hochul"},"content":{"rendered":"

Long before Bruce Blakeman<\/a> became New York\u2019s gubernatorial candidate for change, he was a lowly college kid tasked with driving\u00a0Nancy Reagan around.<\/p>\n

The Nassau County executive\u2019s first real political gig \u2014 as a volunteer for Ronald Reagan\u2019s 1980 presidential campaign\u2014\u00a0 unexpectedly landed him in proximity to the fiercely protective soon-to-be first lady.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe liked and trusted me,\u201d Blakeman told The Post in a recent interview.\u00a0\u201cShe was worried about her husband\u2019s safety. She was very, very protective of her Ronnie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bruce Blakeman was destined for the political spotlight at a young age. Robert Miller for NY Post<\/p>\n

The unglamorous job of carting \u201cFancy Nancy\u201d to fundraisers impressed upon him the value loyalty, discretion and political access \u2014 though the story reveals Blakeman has long been destined for the political spotlight.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got involved in politics at age 7. On Halloween, I went door-to-door with two bags \u2014 one to collect candy and another to give out literature for my dad\u2019s campaign,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople loved it,\u201d he said, \u201cwhen homeowners saw a boy volunteering for his dad\u2019s campaign instead of just getting treats.\u201d<\/p>\n

The longtime public servant is now seeking the highest office in the state, vying to become New York\u2019s first Republican governor in more than two decades on November 3.<\/p>\n

Blakeman, 71, is broadly considered the underdog in trying to topple incumbent Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul \u2014 but he\u2019s always been a risk taker.<\/p>\n

Three years after he was elected to the Hempstead Town Board in 1993, the Long Island native took a chance \u2014 running in a blue district for the newly created Nassau County Legislature.<\/p>\n

He won \u2014 and even became the body\u2019s first presiding officer.<\/p>\n

The GOP Gubernatorial candidate campaigned door-to-door as a kid while trick-or-treating in his hometown of Valley Stream. Bolivar Arellano\/NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cI took a risk,\u201d he recalled. \u201cI was up for re-election [for the Hempstead Board]. Instead, I ran for the Nassau County Legislature in a district drawn for a Democrat and I won.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was an early example of Blakeman silencing the doubters.<\/p>\n

Former US Sen. Alfonse D\u2019Amato<\/a>, a powerhouse in Nassau County GOP politics who\u2019s known Blakeman for 40 years, described him as driven and fearless.<\/p>\n

\u201cBruce was always a hard worker. He never stopped working,\u201d D\u2019Amato said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s never afraid to take on a project. If you needed him to do something, he did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blakeman later served as a driver for Nancy Reagan during Ronald Reagan\u2019s successful 1980 campaign for president. Getty Images<\/p>\n

As the son of Robert Blakeman, who served as a Republican state assemblyman in the 1960s, campaigning was in his blood.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father was \u2018Mr. Valley Stream,’\u201d Bruce Blakeman said about his dad, an influential attorney and World War II veteran who he described as an inspiration and a pillar of the community. He died in 2018 at 92.<\/p>\n

The elder Blakeman enjoyed drafting and debating bills but didn\u2019t like\u00a0the\u00a0campaign rituals of glad handing and street campaigning \u2014 unlike his son, who revels in pounding the pavement\u00a0and pressing the flesh.<\/p>\n

Blakeman credits his outgoing nature to his mother, Betty, who served in the Women\u2019s Army Corps during World War II.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom was a big personality. Anyone who met my mother remembered her for her strong personality and beauty,\u201d he said. \u201cHer love and compassion continue to guide me in everything I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of five siblings, Blakeman\u2019s parents instilled in him a strong work ethic and he had jobs during summers as a busboy, janitor, dishwasher and bartender.<\/p>\n

As a 12 year old boy, he loved taking the Long Island Rail Road into Manhattan on his own or with his friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d roam around the city all day. I was always fascinated by the city,\u201d Blakeman said.<\/p>\n

The 6\u20191\u2033 Blakeman excelled at basketball at Valley Stream High School, where he was a shooting guard and small forward, boasting, \u201cI could play above the rim. I could dunk easily.\u201d<\/p>\n

His basketball career ended when he broke his ankle during the first day of practice his senior year and he later went off to college, first to Arizona State University \u2014 where he met first wife Nancy Shevell \u2014 and then to California Western Law School in San Diego.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was exciting to be in different places,\u201d Blakeman said. \u201cBut I always gravitated back to New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his 20s, the young Republican became involved in presidential politics and backed Gerald Ford for re-election in 1976.<\/p>\n

But at the GOP convention that year, he said he was inspired by rival Reagan\u2019s speech, and volunteered on his 1980 presidential campaign while still in law school.<\/p>\n

Reagan\u2019s campaign assigned Blakeman the sensitive task of serving as the personal driver and assistant for Nancy Reagan, who had many influential friends in New York society, he said. <\/p>\n

The Nassau County executive told The Post, \u201cShe was worried about her husband\u2019s safety. She was very, very protective of her Ronnie.\u201d Robert Miller for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201dNancy was very kind, very thoughtful. People often underestimated her,\u201d Blakeman recalled, saying he mostly drove her to campaign fundraisers.<\/p>\n

After law school, Blakeman returned to New York, worked at his father\u2019s law firm and soon got into Nassau County politics.<\/p>\n

But Blakeman had statewide ambitions and even once flirted with running for<\/a> New York City mayor.<\/p>\n

He was the Republican candidate for state comptroller in 1998, but lost to Democratic incumbent Carl McCall. He lost his seat in the Nassau County legislature the following year in a pair of political setbacks.<\/p>\n

Three years later, then-Gov. George Pataki, the last Republican to hold statewide office, appointed Blakeman a commissioner to the state Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.<\/p>\n

In 2001, Blakeman was appointed commissioner to the state Port Authority of New York and New Jersey under the most recent Republican governor of the Empire State, George Pataki. Obtained by the NY Post<\/p>\n

It was just months before terrorists hijacked planes and toppled the World Trade Center owned by the PA on Sept. 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people and devastating downtown Manhattan.<\/p>\n

Blakeman got to work assisting the city and region\u2019s recovery as a PA commissioner serving on several key committees.<\/p>\n

It was personal for Blakeman.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy nephew, court officer Tommy Jurgens, was murdered while administering first aid in Tower 2. The building fell on him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His body was never recovered; only his gun and badge.<\/p>\n

As the 2026 Republican gubernatorial candidate, Blakeman looks to continue to boost his political career, as he said, \u201cPeople don\u2019t think I can win the race for governor. I\u2019m going to win.\u201d Getty Images<\/p>\n

Blakeman served on the PA\u2019s World Trade Center and Security committees and was involved in the redevelopment plans for the Freedom Tower and Lower Manhattan.<\/p>\n

He also attended many funerals of people killed in the attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cI gave eulogies on behalf of the governor. It was a horrible time, a dark time,\u201d Blakeman said.<\/p>\n

But Blakeman still had the thirst for political office.<\/p>\n

He made unsuccessful runs for the US Senate in 2010 when he lost in a Republican primary and was defeated by Democrat Kathleen Rice in a race for a Long Island congressional seat in 2014.<\/p>\n

In his personal life, however, things were more rosy as the divorc\u00e9 found love a second time with Segal Magori, now a Nassau County Family Court judge, who he married in 2015.<\/p>\n

His political career got a boost a few years later when, in 2021, he defeated<\/a> Democratic incumbent Laura Curran for the Nassau County executive in what many observers viewed as an upset.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a race nobody thought I would win,\u201d Blakeman said.<\/p>\n

He won re-election<\/a> as county executive handily last year and shortly thereafter announced his bid for governor.<\/p>\n

Blakeman said his Jewish faith is very important to him, and that he was disgusted with what he claims is antisemitism raging within the ranks of the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI have a strong belief in God. You\u2019re more likely to be productive and less likely to get into trouble if you have faith,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

D\u2019Amato said Blakeman\u2019s tenacity and resilience make him formidable.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe lost a couple of races but he never gave up,\u201d D\u2019Amato said.<\/p>\n

Blakeman is still staring down the naysayers.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople don\u2019t think I can win the race for governor. I\u2019m going to win,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Long before Bruce Blakeman became New York\u2019s gubernatorial candidate for change, he was a lowly college kid tasked…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387759,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[140962,1626,68,57,140963,140964,774,9,24,55,54,56,13895,87,58],"class_list":["post-387758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-al-damato","tag-bruce-blakeman","tag-exclusive","tag-metro","tag-nancy-reagan","tag-nancy-shevell","tag-nassau-county","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-ny","tag-ny-governor-election-2026","tag-politics","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387758","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=387758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}