Dems kick off statewide anti-Blakeman tour

New York Democrats want people across the state to get to know Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman better – a whole lot better. 

The state Democratic Party this week will kick off a seven-figure “The Cost of Bruce Blakeman” statewide tour to highlight the Republican gubernatorial candidate’s collaboration with federal immigration agents, his questionable public safety record and his unwavering loyalty to President Donald Trump. And they’re bringing the first event to Blakeman’s backyard. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s running mate, former New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, will lead the campaign’s launch event in Mineola on Wednesday, joined by union leaders from CSEA and 1199SEIU and New York Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs.

“What we clearly are hoping to accomplish is that voters get to understand better just who Bruce Blakeman is and what he has done,” Jacobs told City & State in an interview Monday. “We’re starting in Nassau County because, as county executive, his accomplishments are virtually zero.” 

Blakeman is a foe that Jacobs, who has led the Nassau County Democratic Committee for years, knows all too well. 

Democrats are launching the campaign after recent polls show Blakeman has made gains with voters over Hochul, a moderate Democrat. She led the party to a tight 2022 victory over former Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Long Island Republican who Trump tapped last year to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  

Jacobs and party representatives declined to specify exactly how much will be spent on the seven-figure campaign. The next event will be held in the Albany area, but it’s unclear when, or which Democratic leaders will participate.

Democrats hope the tour will present Hochul as a moderate alternative to what they characterize as Blakeman’s extreme MAGA politics. Jacobs said that Blakeman’s record running Nassau County is thin after five years and the actual policies he’s implemented conflict with his campaign promises. Speakers at the events plan to focus on how Blakeman is campaigning on lowering costs for New Yorkers while backing policies that threaten to make the cost of living higher, like Trump’s tariffs, and how he has used local resources to work with masked federal immigration agents to further Trump’s mass deportation agenda. Democrats are also emphasizing that Blakeman has said he supports deeper Medicaid cuts, even beyond those the federal government made last year, which could devastate local and rural hospitals. 

"Are we better off today than we were 15 or 16 months ago?” Jacobs said. “I think most Americans are going to say absolutely not.”

The tour will criss-cross the state and continue through November, focusing on different facets of the GOP’s campaign that are most relevant to different regions – like the impact of tariffs in the North Country.

“Of course we’re going to be talking about his support of Trump and what Trump’s policies have done to Canadian tourism – that’s affected the North Country dramatically,” said Jacobs, adding that Democrats will also speak with farmers impacted by the president’s deportation agenda and greater difficulty to find workers. 

“Fertilizer is more expensive because of the increased oil prices and the rest due to the war – all things Bruce Blakeman very aggressively supports and is in favor of,” he said.

The party will send targeted mailers to potential voters and saturate media markets with ads as part of the campaign – building on an ad Democrats have run since March 18 blasting Blakeman’s ties to Trump and his tendency to “suck up” to the president and an ad Democrats launched last week highlighting Blakeman’s support for Trump’s Medicaid cuts.

“It’s not that we’re simply attacking the Trump policies, but we’re making sure that voters understand how clear Bruce Blakeman has been in expressing his support for all of those policies that are so damaging to everyday New Yorkers,” Jacobs said.

Blakeman’s campaign spokesperson Madison Spanodemos was quick to clap back at Democrats’ planned events. 

“They should call it the Dumb and Dumber tour considering New York has the highest taxes in America, and utility costs are 50 percent above the national average, all brought on by Kathy Hochul’s failed policies,” Spanodemos said in a statement. “Now her lieutenant governor candidate thinks it’s a good idea to let non-citizens vote,” she added, referring to Adams’ support for a local law allowing legal immigrants to vote in New York City elections. “You can’t make this up!”