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Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, center, now the likely Republican gubernatorial nominee, talks to reporters during a recent visit to Albany.<\/p>\n
Dan Clark\/Times Union\/Dan Clark\/Times Union)<\/p>\n
In a recent Siena Research Institute poll, 80% of upstate New Yorkers said they didn\u2019t know\u00a0Bruce Blakeman enough to have an opinion about him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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That highlights the challenge facing the Nassau County executive as he begins his campaign for governor. It is also an opportunity. For better or worse, the Republican is a blank slate for many New Yorkers, a picture to be painted. Blakeman will need to make his case, as he attempted in an interview\u00a0before Christmas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cI am not well-known upstate, and we\u2019re going to remedy that situation,\u201d Blakeman told me. \u201cI will be there so often they\u2019ll probably send me a tax bill.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, most upstate Republicans expected that U.S. Rep. Elise\u00a0Stefanik would be the party\u2019s nominee in the race against either\u00a0Kathy Hochul or Antonio Delgado, the lieutenant governor who is challenging the governor in the upcoming Democratic primary.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Stefanik unexpectedly dropped out of the race<\/a>, saying that \u201cit\u2019s not the right political time.\u201d In part, then, she was agreeing with a widespread view that Republicans will face a difficult environment in 2026, particularly in traditionally blue New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n Make the Times Union a Preferred Source on Google to see more of our journalism when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Blakeman, 70, has an answer. He points to his reelection in November, when he won\u00a0even as Republicans faltered in much of the country. Long Island\u2019s Nassau County, he says, demographically and politically mirrors the state, and yet voters there chose him over a well-funded Democrat.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m able to reach into other communities that typically don\u2019t vote Republican because I have a message of prosperity,\u201d Blakeman said. \u201cI have a message of keeping taxes down, making their lives more affordable and making safer communities. People appreciate that, and that\u2019s why I was able to win in a landslide with 110,000 more Democrats (than Republicans) in Nassau County.\u201d<\/p>\n Blakeman has known Donald Trump for decades, and the president quickly endorsed him when Stefanik left the race<\/a>. That move\u00a0stymied potential Republican candidates and saved the party a primary it wanted to avoid. Like it or not, Blakeman\u2019s the guy.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBruce will be the nominee of the party, no doubt about it,\u201d said Ed Cox, chairman of the state GOP. \u201cHe will have the full support of the party.\u201d<\/p>\n