Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman pushed to link his Democratic opponent Kathy Hochul to socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani in new campaign mailers targeting voters outside the Big Apple.
“Say No to Socialism. Say No to Hochul and Mamdani,” said a Blakeman campaign/state-Republican Party mailer sent to suburban households in Westchester County.
The mailer accuses Hochul of using state taxpayer dollars to implement “Mamdani’s socialist agenda.”
“You are not their priority. You struggle to afford groceries. gas, and rent but Hochul spent nearly 5 billion dollars of your tax money on illegal migrants and Mamdani’s socialist wish list,” the mailer said.
The mailer also mentioned high property taxes, electricity costs, insurance premiums another expenses “up significantly as Hochul implements Mamdani’s socialist agenda.”
“Under Hochul & Mamdani, Westchester is getting more expensive and less safe,” said the mailer, which include images of Hochul and Mamdani behind a worried-looking couple looking at their financial bills.
“As New York’s governor, Bruce Blakeman will stop Kathy Hochul and Zohran Mamdani’s attacks on your wallet.”
Hochul boasted that she provided new state support and actions in this year’s state budget to help Mamdani close New York City’s multi-billion budget deficit — totaling $8 billion over two years.
The action includes allowing the city to impose a new pied-a-terre tax on luxury second homes, as well as providing additional state funding.
Hochul also pitched in state aid to help Mamdani launch his universal child care program for 2-year-olds.
The mailer using Mamdani as a bogeyman comes after the Hochul campaign launched TV ads spending millions linking Blakeman to President Trump, who remains deeply unpopular in his native New York.
Hochul campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki claimed Blakeman committed a gaffe by falsely blaming Hochul for rising gas prices, a spike he blamed on Trump’s pre-emptive war with Iran.
“New Yorkers want a governor who takes on Trump’s terrible economic policies and puts money back in pockets, and they’ve got one in Governor Hochul. Blakeman defended Trump’s record-high gas prices and opposes the governor’s tariff relief for farmers, the data center moratorium to stop companies from jacking up utility bills, and energy rebate checks for families statewide,” Radulovacki said.
Blakeman, who has been endorsed by the president, defended the Iran war, though he acknowledged it could lead to higher gas prices.
“This is a war that had to be fought,” Blakeman said. “Yes, there will be short-term pain but there will be long-term gain. … They hate us, they hate America.”
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