Trump holds Blakeman campaign rally at Syracuse Oncenter on Oct. 9; Hochul spokesperson calls it "a fitting farewell" to a campaign aligned with Trump

President Trump held a midterm rally for Republican gubernatorial nominee Bruce Blakeman at the Oncenter in downtown Syracuse on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, with seating for several thousand. Per CNY Central's pre-event live blog, topics expected included the ICE shooting in New York City, gas prices and international conflicts. A spokesperson for Gov. Hochul responded with a statement calling the event "a fitting farewell" to a campaign that has stayed fully aligned with Trump. Rally remarks were not available to the source at the time of the cited page; speech content is not logged here.

Trump to campaign with Blakeman in Syracuse on Oct. 9, his first Syracuse visit as president; venue not yet announced and neither the White House nor the campaign has released details

Spectrum reports the Oct. 9 Syracuse event; VIN News, citing the NY Post, says a second source indicates more upstate stops are being considered in October.

Backfill: State Democrats file a Board of Elections complaint saying Blakeman's Aug. 14 Nassau police academy event with Trump was a campaign rally run on county resources; Public Citizen files a Hatch Act complaint against AG Blanche for calling Blakeman "great" from the stage

Not previously logged. On Aug. 28 state Democratic chair Jay Jacobs filed a complaint with the NYS Board of Elections alleging Blakeman used county funds, facilities and personnel (the county-owned police academy, secured by county police, with cadets seated behind the stage) for a partisan rally featuring Republican congressional candidates, while accepting public matching funds. Trump later described the event on Truth Social as "a Rally in Nassau County in honor of Bruce Blakeman." Blakeman called the complaint a "Hail Mary" and said Trump came to tour law enforcement facilities. Separately, Public Citizen filed a Hatch Act complaint against U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche for praising Blakeman from the stage; DOJ called it baseless and politically motivated. Resurfaced Sept. 18 in an AP story on Blanche's pattern of political appearances. State law bars use of public resources for campaign activity; both incumbents routinely use official events for campaign-adjacent messaging, so the question is where the BOE draws the line. No BOE action reported. Watch: any BOE finding or PCFB inquiry, and whether the Aug. 14 costs show up in a campaign filing.

City & State: Hochul called Trump's promised $5,000-per-adult checks "a trillion-dollar campaign bribe" last week, then announced $1B in POWER rebate checks mailing before Election Day; her office says the September-October timing reflects Tax and Finance's STAR-season capacity, the same explanation given for last fall's inflation refund checks

Published Sept. 14. For the second straight year Hochul is mailing checks to 8.2 million New Yorkers (income $300K or less) in the weeks before a November election; this year's POWER checks ($100-$200, about $1B) follow last fall's inflation refunds of up to $400. On Sept. 10 Hochul had posted on X that Trump's pledge of $5,000 checks if Republicans hold the House was "a trillion-dollar campaign bribe." Spokesperson Jen Goodman said there is no comparison: "Instead of bribing the American people for votes, Trump should follow the Governor's lead and deliver immediate relief." Hochul's office attributes the timing to the Department of Taxation and Finance's pause from STAR mailings in October-November. The article notes the checks originated as an Assembly proposal (up to $500 for 5.4M households at $2.6B) that Hochul's budget broadened and cheapened, that Sen. James Skoufis's 2025 bill to bar the governor's name on checks never advanced, and that Hochul's signature is not on either year's checks. Gothamist first reported the pre-election timing in late July. Useful for a fact-check on the "buying votes" claim from both directions.

Trump joins the headscarf pile-on: Truth Social post calls Hochul "the Worst Governor in the Country," says she wears "the hijab" to get "the Arab Vote"

On Sept. 1 President Trump posted the Aug. 28 photo of Hochul in a black headscarf at the Islamic Cultural Center School in the Bronx, wrote that Hochul, "considered the Worst Governor in the Country," was "working hard to get the Arab Vote," tied it to congestion pricing hurting her "especially [with] the people for whom she wears the hijab," and closed: "The whole thing is CRAZY!" It escalates the four-day-old controversy from conservative influencers and members of Congress to the president, three weeks after Trump boosted Blakeman at a law-enforcement rally. Hochul's office has said she wore the headscarf as a gesture of respect, consistent with past practice, and that she respects 9/11 victims while rejecting anti-Muslim hatred. Snopes rated the "wore a hijab" framing a Mixture because her hair was visible.

Blakeman calls Trump's "Lake America" order "fun" and brushes off tariff questions while campaigning upstate

Campaigning with Onondaga County Republicans Friday, Blakeman called Trump's executive order renaming Lake Ontario "Lake America" "fun" and "not a serious thing," and declined to discuss the economic impact of the 50% Canada tariffs ("I can't say what's going on in Washington"). Republican Sen. George Borrello broke with him, calling the rename a distraction from trade issues and disrespectful of Indigenous naming; Hochul countered that a trade war with Canada means higher prices, and Gillibrand said Trump should focus on grocery costs.

State Democrats file BOE complaint over the Trump-Blakeman police academy rally; Blakeman calls it a "Hail Mary"

NYS Democratic chair Jay Jacobs filed a complaint Aug 28 with the state Board of Elections claiming Blakeman used county funds, facilities and personnel for the Aug 14 rally with President Trump at the Nassau police academy — an event Trump himself called "a Rally in Nassau County in honor of Bruce Blakeman" on Truth Social. Jacobs asked DELE and the Public Campaign Finance Board to investigate unreported, over-the-limit in-kind contributions, assess the fair market value of the county resources used, and deem the campaign unfit for public matching funds. Blakeman called the complaint "a Hail Mary by the Hochul team." Second Jacobs BOE complaint of the cycle, after the AI-ads complaint.

Hochul campaign hits Blakeman over his support for Trump's tariffs after the 50% duty on Canadian goods

Friends for Kathy Hochul issued a statement on Aug 25 attacking Blakeman for backing Trump's tariffs, arguing the 50% tariff on Canadian goods raises consumer costs and hurts the state economy, and comparing the policy to Depression-era protectionism. Spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki called Blakeman one of Trump's strongest tariff supporters. The release carried no response from Blakeman or the administration. This is a campaign statement, not an independent finding.

Blakeman leans on Trump playbook to energize upstate Republicans, rallying with Constantino at Great Sacandaga Lake

Dog days on the trail: Hochul pushes $120 child food benefit on Lower East Side as Blakeman courts Flushing business leaders

Both candidates worked NYC on Aug 11. At Grand Street Settlement on the Lower East Side, Hochul urged eligible families to apply for the $120-per-child Summer EBT food benefit before its Sept 8 deadline. Blakeman met business leaders in Flushing, Queens, and previewed Trump's Friday Nassau visit, saying the president "wants to honor our police officers, our deputy sheriffs, our corrections officers." Under three months to Election Day.

Trump to tour Nassau police academy Friday with Blakeman, Blanche and Patel — same day as 287(g) filing deadline

President Trump will visit the Nassau County Police Academy on Friday, Aug. 14 with AG Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel to tout the FBI 2025 crime report; Blakeman, who is running for governor, welcomed the visit. First Trump Long Island appearance since the 2024 Coliseum rally. Same day as the state's Aug. 14 filing deadline for agencies with 287(g) agreements, including Nassau's.

Blakeman blocked from speaking at Dominican Day Parade; organizers cite his ties to Trump

Blakeman was barred from speaking at the Dominican Day Parade, with organizers citing his representation of Trump's agenda, per the NY Post (Jul 27). Backfilled from prior window: the incident became one of the two examples Blakeman's campaign cites as evidence of Democratic "cheating" in the governor's race.