The top New York Republican challenging Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) for the state’s gubernatorial nomination does not agree with his state party’s strategy for endorsing candidates.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, hot off his gubernatorial campaign launch, said Tuesday that New York GOP Chairman Ed Cox needs to “get a different playbook” after he backed Stefanik.
The state party considers Stefanik to be the best candidate to beat Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) in 2026 despite Blakeman shaking up the race.
“[Cox] hasn’t won. He’s lost virtually every race,” Blakeman told Spectrum News. “Maybe he needs to look at his playbook and maybe get a different playbook.”
Cox told the Washington Examiner that the party prefers Stefanik and is “confident” that there will be no primary.
“Bruce Blakeman has been a great county executive and is well-liked and respected within our party,” he said. “Elise Stefanik has over 75% of the weighted vote of our counties. She is our best candidate to defeat Kathy Hochul, which is why I endorsed her.”
“I am confident that coming out of our convention, Elise Stefanik will be our candidate and there will be no primary,” Cox added. “Working together, Republicans will break one-party Democrat rule and end Kathy Hochul’s affordability crisis.”
Blakeman’s path to a primary challenge against Stefanik would likely be foggy. He would need 25% of the state’s delegates to vote for him at the New York Republican convention in February 2026 to run against her, which a source familiar with the matter said would be “very unlikely.”
An alternate path for Blakeman would be to gather 15,000 signatures statewide, including at least 100 from half of the state’s congressional districts.
However, Blakeman has a wildcard: President Donald Trump.
Blakeman spoke with the president on the phone late last week about the race and told him that he was considering a run, according to the New York Times. Trump told Blakeman that he did not like seeing two good Republicans going head-to-head with each other, advising Blakeman against running without directly telling him to drop his bid.
Trump threw more gas on Blakeman’s campaign flame when he refused to pick between Stefanik and the Nassau County executive on Monday.
“He’s great, and she’s great,” Trump said at the White House. “They’re both great people.”
Blakeman launched his campaign the next day. The Nassau County Executive is an old friend of the president, the outlet reported, going back to Trump’s days as a real estate icon. If Trump chooses to endorse Blakeman or co-endorses the two Republicans, the race will likely head to a primary.
A primary, which New York GOP leaders want to avoid, would likely distract Stefanik from targeting Hochul.
Stefanik has already spent time criticizing Blakeman. Her campaign has called him disingenuous because he launched his bid despite her being the top competitor for months and leading in the polls for the GOP nomination.
Stefanik’s campaign also said Blakeman’s “raging ego” contributed to his run, and he is “propping up” Hochul by running.
New York Democrats are reveling in the speculation of a contested New York Republican gubernatorial nomination.
“No matter how many times Donald Trump screws over Elise Stefanik, she keeps selling out New Yorkers to win his support,” New York State Democratic Party Spokesman Addison Dick told the Washington Examiner in a statement.
“What’s happening here is clear: Trump is pitting his two top cheerleaders against each other to see who can out-MAGA who for his endorsement,” he added. “Trump’s MAGA vs. MAGA primary for governor is exactly the nightmare that New York Republicans wanted to avoid.”
So far, Blakeman has not directed as much of his ire toward Stefanik as he has toward the state party. He has focused on conveying his affordability and public safety message in the early hours of his campaign, while criticizing Hochul.
“New Yorkers have a clear choice this year. Higher taxes and rising crime under radical liberals, or lower taxes and safer streets with me. The contrast could not be clearer,” he wrote in a post on X.
STEFANIK CAMP SLAMS NEW GOP CHALLENGER BRUCE BLAKEMAN: ‘PUTTING HIS RAGING EGO FIRST’
However, Blakeman will have to focus his attention eventually on attacking Stefanik to erode her massive polling lead in the race.
A November poll found Stefanik would defeat Blakeman in a primary, 74% to 5%. If Stefanik makes it to the general election, she will face steep odds against Hochul. A Siena poll from the same month showed her trailing Hochul by 20 points, 52-32%.
