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Hochul and Blakeman meet in their only debate: ICE shooting in the Bronx, utility costs, crime statistics and Trump dominate; NBC New York reports no fact-checks of the claims traded

Spectrum News/NY1 debate, Oct. 13, moderated by Errol Louis and Susan Arbetter. Per NBC New York: opened on the ICE shooting of Oscar Belgal in the Bronx. Hochul called ICE out of control and said Blakeman had not condemned it; Blakeman called New York a sanctuary state and Belgal a gangbanger. Hochul attributed higher gas and energy costs to the Iran war and Trump; Blakeman said Hochul, not Trump, raised utility bills 48 times. Hochul said statewide crime is at modern lows; Blakeman cited a report ranking Nassau County safest in America. Blakeman said he is pro-choice, called Trump a friend and did not disavow his endorsement; Blakeman tied Hochul to Mayor Mamdani. Statistics were stated by the candidates and not independently checked in the NBC recap. Not yet fact-checked in this tracker.

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Related fact-checks

Blakeman says he will cut utility rates in half by signing an "emergency order" lifting New York's fracking banMostly False "There were no deaths at the hands of ICE in Nassau County." — Bruce Blakeman, Capital Tonight, Aug 26, 2026Half True "Our electric bills are 70% higher than the national average." — Bruce Blakeman, Livingston County GOP rally, Avon, reported Aug 19, 2026Half True

More on campaign

WIRED (via DNYUZ) · Oct 12, 2026WIRED: Dolan family gave $108K to Blakeman and $970K to Nassau GOP; MSG entities put $2M into Strong and Safe New York, which has raised $5.3M FOX 5 NY (citing NY Post) · Oct 11, 2026Blakeman tells the New York Post he would impose a statewide ban on transgender students using girls' school bathrooms and locker rooms FOX 5 NY · Oct 11, 2026New York Democratic Party urges the Public Campaign Finance Board not to release Blakeman's remaining matching funds, filing a complaint dated Oct. 7 POLITICO (via DNYUZ) · Oct 10, 2026POLITICO: Blakeman has not yet refunded about $360,000 in donations over the $9,000 general-election cap; at least 40 over-limit contributions arrived after May 13 ballot certification, and cash-on-hand figures shifted across three filings ($4.7M July 15, $6.1M July 22 amendment, $4.3M Aug 13 amendment)

Source: NBC New York · Oct 14, 2026 · Credibility Tier 2 · Permalink https://reviewhochul.com/news/hochul-blakeman-only-debate-2026-10-13

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