"We need a strong executive. Like President Trump, Bruce Blakeman is a leader who can make the tough choices to get things down and defeat Hochul," the ad says.
Blakeman will face Rep. Elise Stefanik in a primary that state Republican Party leaders have said they do not want. They are both aiming to unseat Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul next November.
"It makes it much more entertaining for me," Hochul initially reacted when asked about a Republican primary standoff.
A Hochul campaign spokesperson called the Nassau County Executive "Bootlicker Bruce Blakeman" and said he "raised costs on New Yorkers and cheered on Trump's tariffs like the MAGA fanboy he is -- flying all the way to D.C. to applaud higher prices. He gushed that Trump is doing an 'amazing job' by gutting Medicaid and jacking up costs. We're not about to let him turn the governor's mansion into Mar-a-Lago North."
Rep. Stefanik's team called Blakeman's entry into the race an "an early Christmas present to Kathy Hochul as he works to blow Republicans' best chance to win."
"Elise is the strongest candidate against Kathy Hochul by a long shot. Elise has outrun President Trump on the ballot by more than any Republican in New York State including Bruce," Stefanik's campaign statement said.
Both Blakeman and Stefanik will be vying for the support of President Donald Trump. Asked which he would support in a gubernatorial primary, Trump called Blakeman and Stefanik "great people."
"But he's great. And she's great," he said. "They're both great people. We have a lot of great people in the Republican Party."
They are both staunch Republicans but Blakeman is hoping for a broader appeal - which could be good in a general election. After all, he won by a wide margin in Nassau County, where Democrats outnumber Republicans.
"Being a so-called pro-choice Republican, someone who has done well with independent voters and even those in the minority community, he apparently got more than 50 percent of the Latino vote," said Hofstra University political analyst Lawrence Levy.
But Stefanik has performed better with registered Republicans, who do vote in a primary..
Her spokesperson added: "Bruce Blakeman has worked overtime to torpedo fellow Republicans...Elise flipped a seat that Republicans failed to flip for years."
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