Blakeman sets stage for election denialism

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman is taking another page out of President Donald Trump’s playbook and refusing to say whether he will accept the results of the November election without a caveat. That comes shortly after he said Democrats will “steal” the election in order to win.

Speaking to reporters in Penn Station on Wednesday, Blakeman said Democrats have “consistently tried to cheat” over the course of the gubernatorial race so far. He cited a since-reversed decision by the Democrat-majority Public Campaign Finance Board to deny him matching funds and being blocked from speaking at the recent Dominican Day Parade. “Do I think they’re going to try and cheat?” Blakeman said. “Yeah, but we’ll stop them.” 

Trump sowed distrust in the lead up to and in the aftermath of the 2020 election, and he has continued to falsely claim he won despite overwhelming evidence and investigations disproving the widespread election fraud he claimed. Blakeman’s rhetoric now is not dissimilar.

“If the results of the elections are fair and they reflect what actually people voted for, yes,” Blakeman said when asked directly if he would accept the outcome of the election regardless of who wins. He added, “Kathy Hochul, if you try to cheat, people are going to go to jail.”

What exactly his definition of “fair” is is another question.

Asked for any additional evidence to suggest Democrats will engage or have engaged in illegal activity to sway the outcome of the election, Blakeman’s campaign reiterated the same two examples the candidate already cited.

Earlier Wednesday morning, Blakeman claimed in a Fox Business interview that Democrats would attempt to steal the gubernatorial election and engage in “dirty tricks” in response to a question about noncitizens erroneously voting in New Jersey. (The state Board of Elections said New York’s voter registration system is different from New Jersey’s, so a similar mistake could not have occurred.) Blakeman also said his campaign is investing significant money in “ballot security” and would recruit thousands of volunteers to combat any alleged malfeasance from Democrats. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s campaign blasted Blakeman’s comments in a statement. “When Bruce Blakeman says he’s running for governor to bring ‘Trump-style leadership to Albany,’ this is what he means – first campaigning with January 6th architects, now embracing Trump’s election denial lies,” Hochul campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki said. “New Yorkers see this for what it is: putting MAGA first no matter the cost.”