Mamdani to campaign with Hochul as Blakeman calls mayor his “secret weapon”
A recent Quinnipiac University poll shows Hochul leading Blakeman among likely voters, 55% to 41%.
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani is expected to join Gov. Kathy Hochul on the campaign trail in the final stretch of New York’s gubernatorial race, a move that both parties believe could influence voters in different ways.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman said Friday that Mamdani’s involvement could ultimately benefit his campaign.
“We’re going to win this election because we’ve got the momentum. We’re on the right side of the issues and we’ve got our secret weapon, Zohran Mamdani, who’s campaigning with Kathy Hochul,” Blakeman said during a campaign stop in the Bronx. “The more they get out together, the better I’m going to do.”
The strategy is not new for Blakeman. During his successful reelection campaign for Nassau County executive last year, Mamdani was frequently a target of criticism. Blakeman doubled down on that approach Friday, saying he hopes the mayor remains active on the campaign trail over the final days before the election.
Mamdani is expected to campaign alongside Hochul, including planned appearances in Brooklyn.
The mayor expressed his support for the governor, arguing that Hochul has focused on helping working families, while portraying Blakeman’s vision for the state as one that would reduce government support for residents.
“What the governor has shown is that she measures her success by the success of the families she’s elected to represent,” Mamdani said. “Bruce Blakeman is running on a vision where he wants city government and state government to do less, less assistance to working families, less compassion for those who are needy across our city and state.”
Political experts say Mamdani’s involvement could help the governor strengthen support among progressive Democrats while also energizing conservatives and moderates who oppose his policies.
“That might help bring along more leftist Democrats who maybe don’t see her as positively,” Cormack said. “But it also motivates people who like her opponent because they are afraid that this is a liberalizing force,” said political science professor Lindsey Cormack.
A recent Quinnipiac University poll shows Hochul leading Blakeman among likely voters, 55% to 41%.
