Cedarhurst, NY — Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman announced his bid for New York governor, taking on Rep. Elise Stefanik for the GOP nomination, and potentially Democratic incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul.

For weeks, speculation over whether Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a longtime friend of President Trump, would take the fight to Stefanik was brewing. He is a known commodity in Downstate New York as a firebrand Republican in an overall Democratic part of the City. In the November election, Blakeman got 56% of the vote in Nassau County—more than the barely 50% Mamdani got in all of New York City.

In interviews following the announcement, Blakeman said he would be using his track record in Nassau County as a model for how he would handle crime and rising costs.

“New York is desperate for change, for new leadership that will put New Yorkers first,” said a narrator in Blakeman’s two-minute ad announcing his candidacy. “For too long, Albany has been controlled by one party, the Democrats. We need a strong Republican, one who will take the fight to Hochul and her liberal policies that are causing taxes, utility bills and crime to soar.”

In October, Stefanik launched her campaign with a post on social media, calling Hochul—who endorsed Zohran Mamdani against her former boss Andrew Cuomo in the mayoral race—“the worst governor in America,” a line Republicans have been calling her for months.

For Blakeman, it will be an uphill battle with Stefanik, who, as previously reported by FrumNews.com, secured support from many Republicans, including Congressman Mike Lawler and 58 County GOP Chairs representing over 75% of the New York Republican Party’s weighted vote in her campaign for Governor.

In the 2022 gubernatorial election, GOP nominee Lee Zeldin (who is now Trump’s EPA head) ran up the numbers against Hochul, losing by just 6%. In 2024, Trump improved his vote share from 38% in 2020 to 43%. Now with Mamdani coming onto the stage—and with Hochul’s low polling numbers—Stefanik and New York Republicans are hoping the political winds will change over the next 11 months against New York Democrats.