GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Blakeman Courts Clergy, Ex-Democratic Official in Final Campaign Push
Nassau County executive emphasizes faith-based services and common-sense immigration policies in bid to unseat Gov. Hochul.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman made a last-minute appeal to voters on Thursday, securing endorsements from Bronx faith leaders and longtime Democratic official Reuben Diaz Sr. during a campaign rally in the Longwood neighborhood.
Blakeman, who is seeking to unseat Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, positioned himself as a defender of traditional values and an advocate for faith-based organizations. He described Diaz Sr., a former Bronx councilman and state senator, as "a great friend, a man of God, a man of family, a man of the people of this city."
"We have to get back to the values of our parents and our grandparents," Blakeman stated at the Iglesia Cristiana de la Comunidad church. "The Democratic Party has become a party unrecognizable. This isn’t the party of Bill Clinton. This is a party of people who don’t believe in God and in our values. They worship government."
Blakeman, who is Jewish, pledged to redirect funding from government programs to faith-based organizations, asserting they provide higher quality services within communities. "I will share funding away from government to faith-based organizations, who work in the community, who live in the community," he said.
On immigration, Blakeman expressed confidence in his support for guest worker permits for undocumented laborers, stating it appeals to Hispanic voters. "I think that the Hispanic and Latino communities love my positions on immigration because it’s a common sense approach," Blakeman said. "People would like to stay in this country, and if they haven’t gotten trouble and they’re working, I think they should be able to stay. But they also want the criminals out of their communities."
Blakeman, 71, also campaigned in Harlem alongside former New Jersey Nets star Jayson Williams.
He is considered an underdog in his challenge against Hochul, 68, who is running for her second full four-year term. Election Day is November 3, with early voting concluding on Saturday.