Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman slammed New York GOP Chair Ed Cox after his endorsement of Rep. Elise Stefanik as the state's Republican challenger to Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Speaking to Spectrum News on Wednesday, Blakeman said 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, saying the upstate New York representative "is a unifier and a party builder with the brains, the guts and the resources to win statewide next year."
"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," Cox added, roughly a month before Blakeman announced his candidacy.
Stefanik, a prominent ally of President Donald Trump in the House, launched her bid after months of speculation and is widely viewed as the early GOP front-runner for the nomination.
Blakeman, meanwhile, is a well-known Republican on Long Island who has made public safety and affordability central themes of his county administration and campaign messaging. He has drawn attention statewide for a string of high-profile, conservative-leaning initiatives in Nassau County.
In an exclusive interview Tuesday, Blakeman told Newsmax that he is running against Hochul, not Stefanik, and cited his history of attracting non-Republican voters to support him.
"Everybody wants the same thing. 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," Blakeman said.
While Trump has said both candidates "are great people," the Stefanik campaign blasted Blakeman for entering the race, calling his decision "an early Christmas present to Kathy Hochul as he works to blow Republicans' best chance to win."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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