Bruce Blakeman: A Suit-Wearing Republican Version of John Fetterman

While Zohran the Boy Wonder continues to alarm supporters of Israel in New York City, a candidate for governor, as pro-Israel as Mamdani is anti, has appeared, and he is rising steadily in the polls against the current governor, Kathy Hochul, who endorsed Mamdani in his mayoral race.

More about this candidate, Republican Bruce Blakeman, can be found here: “New York’s Bruce Blakeman Vows to Protect Jews, Combat Anti-Israel Policies if Elected Governor,” by Corey Walker, Algemeiner, March 31, 2026:

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the Republican gubernatorial candidate in New York, is outlining an aggressive law-and-order platform centered in part on combating antisemitism and defending Israel as he surges in the polls with the campaign season heating up.

In responses to a series of policy questions presented by The Algemeiner, Blakeman pointed to his record in Nassau County, home to a large Jewish population, as a model for how he would govern statewide. He argued that stricter enforcement and a tougher stance on protests have helped prevent unrest seen elsewhere in the region.

“In Nassau we have not permitted the lawless rioting that has threatened the safety and security of the Jewish community in New York City and on college campuses,” Blakeman said, adding that demonstrators who break the law must “face arrest” and that local policies banning face coverings during protests have helped deter violence.

“As the leader of Nassau County, home to 1.5 million people, of which almost 300,000 identify as Jewish, I have made protecting the Jewish community a priority,” Blakeman told The Algemeiner.

“These professional paid agitators know that in Nassau they face arrest if they break the law,” he said, adding that Nassau has “made it illegal for them to wear masks for them to hide their identities.”

Concealing one’s identity with face masks became a common feature of the pro-Hamas, anti-Israel demonstrations that erupted on college campuses across the US, as well as in the streets of New York, during the Gaza war.

Blakeman’s comments come amid heightened concern over antisemitic incidents in New York and nationally, an issue that has become increasingly central in state and local political debates.

Blakeman, who was first elected Nassau County executive in 2021 and won reelection last year, has repeatedly taken aim at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, accusing him of promoting anti-Israel positions and rhetoric he described as dangerous to Jewish communities.

Blakeman’s likely opponent in the race for governor is the incumbent, Kathy Hochul, whose endorsement of Zohran Mamdani for mayor will not be forgotten nor forgiven.

When it comes to Israel, Bruce Blakeman is all one could wish for, a Republican version of Senator John Fetterman (D-Penn.), but without the shorts and sneakers. As governor, he will be able to use the bully pulpit in Albany to denounce the Muslim malevolence of the Boy Wonder in Gracie Mansion. He will have the power of the state purse, able to make sure that some of Mamdani’s spending plans remain unfunded. If Mayor Mamdani tries to impose a BDS policy, Governor Blakeman can make sure that he fails; Blakeman will outrank him and can block Mamdani’s ultra vires power grabs. Governor Hochul promised Mamdani she would “find $10 billion” to fund his projects, including $6 billion a year for free child care and $652 million a year in free bus services. Let’s see if she does so. But if Bruce Blakeman becomes governor later this year, he will be able to deny Mamdani state funding for many of these pie-in-the-sky promises and keep him on a short leash. Governor Bruce Blakeman could do a world of good.