Hochul and Blakeman campaign across the state as early voting begins; Blakeman pitches income-tax cut, Hochul rallies in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse

Hochul voted Saturday and rallied in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. Blakeman rallied on Staten Island, citing high electric bills and saying Hochul approved 48 utility rate hikes, and proposed eliminating state income tax on the first $50,000 (single) and $100,000 (joint) of income. Early voting runs through Nov. 1; Election Day is Nov. 3. The article also cites a Republican-commissioned Buffalo-region survey, which is not logged as a poll.

Hochul campaign hits Trump and Blakeman over gas-price comments

Hochul campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki cited a Trump remark Saturday night on gas prices and earlier Blakeman statements, including an April comment calling higher gas costs short-term pain and a Sept. 23 post saying gas prices are Washington issues, not New York issues. Campaign-sourced framing.

Hochul, Blakeman make final pitch to voters as Election Day nears; Hochul campaigns with Mamdani in Brooklyn

Hochul campaigned in Brooklyn with Mayor Zohran Mamdani, stressing child care and free school meals. Blakeman, in Yorktown Heights, pledged tax cuts and expanded natural gas production to cut utility costs. Early voting continues through Nov. 1.

Blakeman attacks Hochul for allegedly not signing volunteer firefighter tax relief bill; PoliticsNY reports she signed it two days earlier

Per the PoliticsNY headline, the Blakeman campaign criticized Hochul over a volunteer firefighter tax relief bill that had in fact been signed two days earlier. Detail beyond the headline not independently read.

Blakeman uses fatal subway shooting as campaign cudgel against Hochul, NY1 reports

NY1 reports the Blakeman campaign is citing a fatal subway shooting in its public-safety attacks on Hochul. Detail beyond the headline not independently read.

Blakeman-aligned super PAC launches $750K-a-week ad attacking Hochul over $637M COVID test deal, Hoodline reports

Hoodline headline reports a pro-Blakeman super PAC ad buy of $750K a week focused on a $637M COVID test contract. Which committee is behind it was not confirmed here, so outside_spending was not changed.

Hochul campaign releases ad featuring Mayor Mamdani calling Blakeman a "bad apple"; Blakeman responds on child care, taxes and transit fares

On Oct. 15 the Hochul campaign released a roughly one-minute video in which Mayor Zohran Mamdani cuts together Blakeman clips on Medicaid, child care and ICE. The ad includes a Blakeman clip saying "We make sure we cut Medicaid in half"; the article notes that at the Oct. 13 debate Blakeman said, "I never said that I would cut Medicaid in half." Blakeman responded that he supports universal child care for working parents and criticized Hochul and Mamdani on taxes, utility costs and transit fares. amNY attributes the video to the Hochul campaign and does not name a paying committee.

Pro-Blakeman super PAC Strong and Safe New York reports three more $1M transfers, $3M from MSG Sports and Sphere Entertainment, per Board of Elections records cited by the NY Post

NY Post (Oct. 14, Carl Campanile) reports, citing state Board of Elections records, three $1 million transfers into Strong and Safe New York Inc.: two from MSG Sports and one from Sphere Entertainment Group, both Dolan-run. TicketNews (Oct. 15) says this is on top of roughly $2 million from MSG-related entities reported by WIRED on Oct. 1, and that the cumulative total and contributing entities have not been independently reconciled. Neither piece gives a filing date or a running raised/spent figure. TicketNews also reports a $10,000-minimum Dolan fundraiser at MSG. This tracker has not independently pulled the BOE filing.

New York Democrats ask state election-enforcement unit to investigate Blakeman campaign finance reports; Focus says campaign sought matching funds on 2,600+ ineligible donations worth up to $860K

New York Focus (Oct. 15, Sam Mellins): State Democratic chair Jay Jacobs filed a complaint with the Division of Election Law Enforcement alleging reporting errors at a scale that cannot be dismissed as clerical, relying on earlier Focus and Newsday reporting of double- and triple-counted contributions. Focus says the campaign requested matching funds on over 2,600 donations that were out of state, too large, or both, worth as much as $860,000 in matching funds; it is unclear how much, if any, was paid. Focus reports Blakeman has received the $3.5M maximum and holds about $178,000 cash, versus Hochul at about $19M. The Blakeman campaign called the complaint a desperate attempt after a prior failed effort to block matching funds. The BOE declined comment citing the pending complaint. Allegations are unadjudicated.

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.

WIRED: 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

WIRED (Oct. 1, republished by DNYUZ) reports the Dolan family has given $108,000 directly to Blakeman and $970,000 to the Nassau County Republican Party. MSG entities contributed another $2 million to Strong and Safe New York Inc., which has raised $5.3 million overall. No donation dates given and no other new donors named.

New York Democratic Party urges the Public Campaign Finance Board not to release Blakeman's remaining matching funds, filing a complaint dated Oct. 7

FOX 5 NY (Oct. 8) reports the state Democratic Party is asking the PCFB to withhold the rest of Blakeman's public matching funds; the party posted the complaint on its site. No board ruling or dollar amount for the remaining funds was reported. Earlier coverage (NYS Focus, Sept. 29) found ineligible donations in his match requests. Blakeman's campaign response was not in the accessible reporting.

Blakeman tells the New York Post he would impose a statewide ban on transgender students using girls' school bathrooms and locker rooms

FOX 5 NY's Oct. 5 election update reports Blakeman told the New York Post (Oct. 3) he would enact a statewide ban on transgender students in girls' school bathrooms and lockers if elected. The Hochul campaign's response was not captured. Relates to the open Blakeman transgender sports ban controversy.

POLITICO: 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)

Per POLITICO reporting (Bill Mahoney, Oct 7, reposted by DNYUZ): about $360K owed back to donors above the $9,000 cap, at least 40 over-limit gifts after ballot certification, and a suggested online donation of $9,369.14 for a $9,000 gift that was given 22 times. The campaign blamed a split filing for duplicate entries; removing all potential duplicates would cut contributions by $292K. PCFB co-director Brian Keegan called the filing problems "user error, not a system error." Hochul has had a few over-limit gifts, which her campaign refunded (e.g., $1,000 back to the NYS Council of Machinists on Sept 28). Secondary repost; original POLITICO link not retrieved.

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.

Pro-Blakeman super PAC Strong and Safe New York launches ad alleging Hochul pay-to-play over $637M Covid test contract; reported buy is $750K a week through Nov. 3; Hochul campaign calls it a baseless attack

Per Hoodline (Oct. 7), the PAC ad targets 1M+ voters on streaming, social and video texting. The allegations are the PAC's; Hochul's office has said the 2021 purchases were needed to get rapid tests quickly and that she did not oversee procurement. Funder claims (James Dolan, Steve Wynn) in the piece are second-hand and not confirmed against a BOE filing, so outside_spending was not changed.

Actress Debra Messing attends Manhattan fundraiser for Blakeman, tells him "I am so grateful you are running" and criticizes congestion pricing; reported by the New York Post Oct. 4

Secondary report of a Post story; the fundraiser appears to have been around Oct. 1. Messing said she is backing Blakeman as "the affordable campaign."

Hochul and Blakeman campaign separately in Erie County a month out; Hochul announces free community college expansion, Seneca gaming compact talks still unresolved

Both candidates campaigned in Erie County on Oct 5 with affordability as the shared theme. Blakeman criticized Hochul on taxes, utility costs and business climate; Hochul announced an expansion of the state free community college program and tied Blakeman to Trump tariff policy. Seneca Nation protesters appeared at a Blakeman event over gaming compact talks; Hochul said negotiations continue with no agreement. Candidates debate next week (Oct 13).

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.

Blakeman pitches income-tax exemption for earners under $50K single / $100K joint (about $4,000 a year, paid for by redirecting immigrant and refugee aid); Hochul cites no income or corporate tax increases and her rebates

State of Politics (Jack Arpey, Sept 29) compares the tax pitches. Blakeman says he would fund what he calls the largest income tax cut in state history by redirecting spending. Hochul says she has not raised income or corporate taxes and points to a $1,000 rebate for families with children under 4, $1B in energy rebates, a middle-class rebate, a property tax rebate and the NYC luxury second-home tax. Hochul campaign-announced figures: $8.5M raised in September, $18.5M cash on hand; state Democratic Party $15M.

Hochul says she will campaign with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at multiple events before Election Day as AOC starts a statewide tour; Blakeman says the more AOC campaigns for Hochul, the better his chances

In a WNYC interview Sept. 23, Hochul said she asked Ocasio-Cortez and others to campaign statewide. Ocasio-Cortez's tour opens in Buffalo. Newsweek separately reported Sept. 22 that Hochul asked Ocasio-Cortez for $300,000 for the Democrats' statewide coordinated campaign, with the money directed to field organizing and half reserved for Spanish-language outreach. That money went to the coordinated campaign, not Hochul's own committee.

Blakeman picks up an endorsement from former Queens Council Member Bob Holden and pitches himself as a "pro-choice Republican" Democrats can back; Hochul campaign calls the endorsement phony, noting Holden has run on the GOP line

Published Sept. 23 (7:50 PM ET), after the prior refresh window. Campaign stop at Middle Village Bagels in Queens. Blakeman repeated his claims that NY utility bills are 70% above the national average and that Hochul approved 48 rate hikes (campaign claims, not independently verified here). Holden said opposition to the Interborough Express and the housing that would come with it could be turned into Blakeman votes. Hochul spokesman Ryan Radulovacki: "earn your support, don't fake it." NY1 cites Independent Voter Project data: Democrats 47.6% vs. Republicans 22.6% of registered voters.

Hochul launches TV ad built around her one-year data center moratorium, part of a multimillion-dollar buy running through Election Day; ad says Blakeman called the moratorium "crazy"

The ad runs on cable, broadcast, digital and streaming through Nov. 3. It argues the moratorium on permits for large data centers will hold down utility bills and ties Blakeman to Trump over data center support.

Blakeman pledges to "immediately end" the HALT solitary-confinement law at a Capitol event with NYSCOPBA, then concedes a Democratic Legislature would make it a budget negotiation

At the Sept. 22 event formalizing the correction officers' union endorsement, Blakeman said he would use the governor's leverage to repeal HALT and rehire officers fired after the 2025 strike. Pressed, he said repeal would be a negotiation with Democratic leaders. Hochul's campaign pointed to ~$4B in public-safety spending and defended the firings.

Hochul and Blakeman set their only debate for Oct. 13, hosted by Spectrum News and broadcast live on its statewide affiliates and YouTube; comptroller candidates debate Oct. 1 and attorney general candidates Oct. 8

Spectrum News announced Sept. 22 that Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman (R) will meet Oct. 13 in the first and only gubernatorial debate before the Nov. 3 election. Down-ballot: comptroller debate Oct. 1, attorney general debate Oct. 8.

Hochul tours the National Guard's Joint Task Force Empire Shield mobile command center at Grand Central and pledges to keep enhanced security at major transit hubs; her office notes last year's budget added $45M for the mission and raised the deployment to 1,050 service members

Sept. 21 late-afternoon visit with MTA Police and Guard members. Empire Shield dates to post-9/11; the release is a visibility event six weeks before the election rather than a new policy or funding action. Blakeman has run on subway safety and Hochul's 2024 Guard deployment to the subways was itself contested.

Blakeman answers the Working Families Party endorsement by calling it "the Socialist Party" and urging voters to "slam the door" on Hochul "on November 4th"; Election Day is Nov. 3, and the Hochul campaign mocked the error as the campaign having "put down the AI slop" to write its own material

Backfill (Sept. 17-19). After the WFP put Hochul and Adrienne Adams on its ballot line Sept. 16, Blakeman's campaign statement said the WFP stands for tax hikes, defunding police, ending suburban zoning and a $250K inheritance-tax threshold, and told voters to reject it "on November 4th." The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3 (early voting Oct. 24-Nov. 1). Hochul's campaign issued a release Sept. 17 pointing out the wrong date; Long Island Life & Politics (Sept. 19) carried both statements and the WFP's own platform language (child care, housing, health care, immigrant protections). The Blakeman campaign did not say whether the date was a typo. Context: WFP voters accounted for 261,323 of Hochul's 3,140,415 votes in 2022 (8.3%), per BOE results cited by LILP. Secondary source: https://lilifepolitics.com/news/politics/blakeman-hochul-accepted-endorsement-from-socialist-party/

Blakeman sits for a Rochester in Focus interview on News10NBC (WHEC), covering his 100-day plan, taxes, utility bills, fracking and green energy, immigration and law enforcement; the station says it invited both candidates and Hochul's campaign is "working to come up with a date"

On Sunday, Sept. 20, Rochester's NBC affiliate aired a special edition of its public-affairs show Rochester in Focus built around a sit-down with Bruce Blakeman. Host Lynette Adams covered his 100-day plan, cutting taxes and utility bills, agriculture and green energy, the state food supply, immigration, electricity bills, law-enforcement investment, crime and affordability. WHEC says it invited both Blakeman and Hochul to appear in person or by Zoom; Blakeman accepted, and Hochul's campaign told the station last week it is working on a date. This follows Blakeman's Sept. 18 Greece stop where he pledged to lift the fracking ban by emergency order. No transcript or new policy specifics were published in the station's write-up.

Hochul works Chappaqua Community Day six weeks out: says affordability is the top concern she hears on the trail, citing gas prices, utility bills and housing, and points to the $1B POWER rebate checks; a resident presses her to take a harder line on Mayor Mamdani over antisemitism and money in politics

On Saturday, Sept. 19, Hochul visited Chappaqua's Community Day at the train station with State Sen. Peter Harckham, New Castle Supervisor Victoria Tipp and Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins. Asked what she hears most from voters, she named affordability first ("People are just struggling with the high cost of gas at the tank"), then utility costs and housing, and pointed to the $1 billion in POWER rebate checks that begin mailing Sept. 21. Chappaqua composer-conductor Michael Shapiro approached her to say she should take a stronger position on NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, citing antisemitism and money in politics. Coverage from The Examiner News, a Westchester weekly; no statewide outlet covered the stop.

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.

Blakeman in Greece (Rochester): says he would sign an "emergency order" lifting the fracking ban to cut utility rates in half, calls the POWER checks "an election year trick," and says he opposes large-scale solar on farmland and offshore wind

Second day of the same message, new mechanism on record: at a Sept. 18 campaign stop in Greece, Monroe County, Blakeman said Hochul's $100-$200 POWER checks are "a scheme, and it's election year trick" after utility bills rose "700 to $1,000 or more" a year (campaign figure, unverified here). He vowed to cut utility rates in half by signing an emergency order to lift the state's fracking ban, and said he opposes large-scale solar arrays on agricultural land and offshore wind projects. WXXI notes NYISO attributes rate pressure to natural-gas prices, aging infrastructure and tightening supply, and that the fracking ban was codified in state law in 2020 after a DEC review. See fact check on whether an executive order can lift a statutory ban.

Blakeman holds up a jar of peanuts at a Howard Beach presser and calls Hochul's $200 POWER checks "a big election year scam," claiming utility rates rose 48 times and 50% on her watch; he pledges to cut energy bills in half and "open up" the state's natural-gas supply. Hochul campaign: "100% MAGA" Blakeman "opposes every dollar" she returns to families

Blakeman's counter-message to the week's $1B POWER rebate rollout: at a Howard Beach press conference he called the up-to-$200 checks "peanuts" and "a shell game," said Hochul "thinks we're stupid" and is "trying to buy our votes," and repeated his claim of 48 rate hikes and a 50% ($700-$1,000 per resident) increase since she took office. He said only 30% of a bill pays for electricity usage and criticized upstate wind and solar spending. New pledges on record: cut residents' energy bills in half and expand natural-gas supply. Blakeman's 48-hike and 50% figures are his campaign's numbers and are not independently verified here; Hochul's office puts state utility-bill relief since 2021 at $6.6B plus the $1B checks. The Hochul campaign responded by tying Blakeman to Trump-era gas prices and saying he opposes tariff relief, car-insurance cuts and universal child care.

Working Families Party formally endorses Hochul and Adrienne Adams on its ballot line, seven months after its state committee passed her over in February; tally not disclosed

WFP state director Jasmine Gripper announced the endorsement Sept. 16 after a state committee vote; the party declined to give the tally. In February the committee chose a placeholder rather than endorse Hochul or then-LG Delgado (City & State reported Hochul drew 3% of the weighted vote, which WFP disputed). WFP leaders have said the delay gave them leverage on child care and immigration. Hochul will appear on both the Democratic and WFP lines; Blakeman holds the Republican and Conservative lines. Same day, Hochul defended the $1B POWER checks at a Flatbush YMCA stop: "I won't make New Yorkers wait for relief."

Correction officers' union NYSCOPBA endorses Blakeman 1,370-78, its first statewide endorsement ever, citing the 2025 prison strike firings and staffing crisis

NYSCOPBA president Chris Summers announced the membership vote (94.6% for Blakeman), the union's first endorsement in a statewide race. Grievances trace to the 22-day wildcat strike of Feb-Mar 2025, after which Hochul fired roughly 2,000 officers who defied a Taylor Law back-to-work order; National Guard troops remain in dozens of prisons at a cost reported above $1B. Blakeman has pledged to rehire the fired officers and repeal the HALT solitary-confinement law; the Taylor Law framework Hochul used makes the legal path to reinstatement unclear. The union also backed Republican Saritha Komatireddy for AG and Democrat Tom DiNapoli for comptroller. Adds to the intra-labor split: TWU opposed Hochul's AFL-CIO endorsement while building trades, firefighters and public-employee unions have lined up behind her.

Hochul on NY1's Inside City Hall (Sept. 15): rejects the "buying votes" charge on the $1B POWER checks ("negotiated with the Legislature in the spring"), rules out fracking because it is "illegal under state law," calls Ortt's claim she is anti-police "false," says the data-center framework applies only after the moratorium, and puts her last call with Trump at "over a month" ago

Rush transcript posted 9:53 p.m. Sept. 15. On the POWER rebate checks (8.2M households, $100-$200, mailing from Sept. 21), Errol Louis played Blakeman's "buying votes" attack; Hochul said "I don't know what he's talking about," that the checks were negotiated in the spring budget passed in May, and that Tax and Finance had to finish STAR checks first. On energy costs she blamed an aging grid, the Indian Point closure ("25 percent of New York City's power") and the Trump administration halting offshore wind, and said she is "leaning hard into nuclear." Asked about Blakeman's call to tap the Marcellus Shale, she said "hydrofracking is illegal under state law. I plan on following state laws." On the sheriffs' 287(g) suit and Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt's press-conference claim she is anti-police, she said "it's actually false," citing "$4 billion" spent on public safety, and said Blakeman has Nassau police "going after teenagers and people going to their job at the Home Depot." She said the EO 62 Community Investment Framework is "not a modification of the moratorium," takes effect "a year from now" only for communities that want a data center, and that she has "30 applications for hyperscale data centers." She confirmed attending the Bills home opener Thursday and Belmont's opening Friday, said she last spoke with Trump "over a month" ago about Penn Station, nuclear and Haitian TPS, would not weigh in on renaming Penn Station, and listed House targets (Conley in NY-17, Gendebien in NY-21, NY-1). Balance note: the transcript is the governor's own release; Blakeman's side of the rebate and fracking arguments is captured in the Sept. 13 NY Post and Sept. 14 POWER-checks rows.

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.

Blakeman pledges to kill the 2035 gas-car ban (Advanced Clean Cars II) and building electrification rules if elected: "Kathy Hochul looks at middle-class commuters and sees an ATM," citing 21 toll and fare hikes and congestion pricing; Hochul campaign does not defend the mandate directly, instead ties Blakeman to Trump gas prices and tariffs

Blakeman told the Post he would scrap the 2022 Advanced Clean Cars II rule (100% zero-emission new car sales by 2035) and the new-building gas ban, framing them as a "war on drivers." He cited 21 toll/fare increases and congestion pricing. Hochul has defended ACC II (Sept 2022 release, $30M EV rebate expansion in April 2026) but already softened the CLCPA target from 40% by 2030 to 60% by 2040 in the FY27 budget. Her campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki did not address the mandate and pivoted to auto-insurance reform, Trump-era gas prices and tariffs. Primary Post URL could not be fetched directly; full text verified through EVSHIFT syndication (Sept 14) and Hoodline (Sept 15).

NYS Building & Construction Trades Council (235,000 members) endorses Hochul for re-election; LaBarbera cites construction, housing and energy-project policies, Hochul points to offshore wind, Gateway, upstate chips and housing

Hochul's campaign announced Sept. 10 that the New York State Building & Construction Trades Council, which it says represents more than 235,000 union construction workers, endorsed her re-election. President Gary LaBarbera credited policies expanding construction jobs, housing development and energy projects; Hochul cited offshore wind off Long Island, the Gateway Tunnel, upstate semiconductor plants and housing. The membership figure and project claims come from the campaign; no vote tally or endorsement process was described. The statewide council endorsement sits against the intra-labor split logged since June, in which individual building-trades locals (e.g., Steamfitters Local 638 on Sept. 2) have gone to Blakeman. Reported Sept. 14 by Fingerlakes1; original campaign release URL not located.

"The Cost of Bruce Blakeman" tour reaches Western New York: LG nominee Adrienne Adams, Rep. Tim Kennedy and Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan launch a canvass at CWA Local 1168 headquarters in Amherst on Sept. 12, the state Democratic Committee's pitch that Blakeman's record would raise costs and property taxes

The state Democratic Committee's anti-Blakeman tour held its Western New York stop Saturday at the CWA Local 1168 hall in Amherst, Erie County. Speakers were Democratic lieutenant governor nominee Adrienne Adams, U.S. Rep. Tim Kennedy and Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan, joined by labor representatives. The tour's stated message is that Blakeman's policies would increase costs and property taxes; the Blakeman campaign's response, if any, was not found in coverage. Pre-event advisory: https://www.fingerlakes1.com/2026/09/08/adams-kennedy-and-ryan-to-launch-anti-blakeman-canvass-in-amherst/

NY1 on the ceremony's politics: Hochul stood with Cuomo and de Blasio, Vance embraced Giuliani and Bloomberg, 9/11 widow Terry Strada used the podium to attack Saudi protection "administration after administration," and Blakeman attended to honor his nephew, court officer Thomas Jurgens

Speeches by politicians were barred, but the ceremony still turned political through family readers: Strada called out dignitaries for protecting Saudi Arabia and asked Vance to carry the message to Trump. NY1 reports the Mamdani–Giuliani meeting after weeks of Giuliani urging the mayor to stay away, and quotes Hochul's CNN line that animosity "seems to melt away" at the reflecting pools. Blakeman's campaign said he attended to honor Senior Court Officer Thomas Jurgans, who died evacuating people from the World Trade Center. No incident or protest involving Hochul or Mamdani was reported.

Hochul on CNN's Situation Room after the ceremony: "I just left the reading of the names," says New Yorkers "were let down" by EPA air-quality assurances, and describes the Giuliani–Mamdani handshake as animosity that "seems to melt away"

Hochul appeared live on CNN's Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer on the 25th anniversary, opening with "I just left the reading of the names of the victims." She said people "were let down" by post-9/11 air-quality assurances from the EPA, citing the records the city released this week; said the state put money toward roughly 2,000 untested responder samples; cited $70M in hate-crime security grants and a 50-foot buffer zone for houses of worship going into the High Holidays; and said the animosity over Giuliani's calls for Mamdani to stay away "seems to melt away" at the reflecting pool. Conservative and aggregator sites framed her departure during the name-reading as ditching the ceremony; no tier 1–2 outlet had reported that framing or the spokesperson's reported Vance comparison as of Sept 12 (see fact check).

The ceremony happened without incident: Mamdani attended Ground Zero as planned, shook hands with Giuliani on arrival, and no turned backs or protest were reported; Hochul, Vance, Bush, Clinton, Obama and Biden were in the elected-officials section

After a week in which Blakeman, Giuliani and Pataki urged Mamdani to stay away (Blakeman suggested attendees "turn their back on the mayor"), the 25th-anniversary reading of 2,753 names went ahead with the mayor and governor present. Footage shows Mamdani approaching Giuliani and the two shaking hands; Mamdani later said they exchanged pleasantries and kept the focus on families. No elected official spoke, consistent with the Memorial's post-2012 rule. Trump was at the Pentagon after reportedly being refused a speaking slot. Relevance to the governor's race: the walkout/protest Blakeman floated did not materialize, and Hochul's "voices of hatred should not prevail" line was not tested by any disruption. Secondary source: thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/6084719-mamdani-and-giuliani-shake-hands-at-9-11-commemoration/

Three firefighter unions endorse Hochul on the anniversary: UFA, UFOA and the NYS Professional Fire Fighters Association cite the revived September 11th Worker Protection Task Force and Tier 3/Tier 6 pension reforms in this year's budget

The Uniformed Firefighters Association (Bobby Eustace), Uniformed Fire Officers Association (James Brosi) and NYSPFFA (Sam Fresina) issued a joint statement backing Hochul for reelection, released exclusively to City & State at 5am on Sept. 11. They point to the reconstituted 9/11 Worker Protection Task Force and the Tier 3 and Tier 6 retirement changes in the FY27 budget. Context from C&S: UFA and UFOA also endorsed Hochul in 2022, NYSPFFA's political arm spent on her then, and all three are affiliates of the state AFL-CIO, which endorsed her July 1 over TWU objections. Timing matters more than novelty: the endorsement lands the same day Blakeman had urged 9/11 families and first responders to shun the governor and mayor at Ground Zero.

On the morning of the 25th anniversary, Gothamist reports the Ground Zero ceremony has lost its apolitical footing: Giuliani, Pataki and Blakeman urged Mamdani to stay away, Hochul says "the voices of hatred should not prevail," and a Suffolk poll finds 74% of city voters think the mayor should attend

Gothamist's Sept. 11 morning piece frames the run-up to the commemoration as unusually political. Giuliani, Pataki and Blakeman all called on Mayor Mamdani not to attend; Mamdani is attending and seated in the elected-officials section near them. Hochul said this week it would be wrong for Mamdani to stay away: "This is a time when the voices of hatred should not prevail over the voices of those who say, 'Let us come together.'" The 9/11 Memorial and Museum says no elected official has spoken at the ceremony since 2012 and officials are invited "simply to bear witness." The story also notes the Democratic attack on Blakeman for appearing with congressional candidate Joel Anabilah-Azumah, who posted in 2024 that 9/11 was "an inside job"; Blakeman's representatives did not return a request for comment. A Suffolk University poll of NYC voters released this week found 74% said Mamdani should attend and 74% said the event should focus on victims and survivors. Trump is at the Pentagon; Vance is at the WTC site.

Hochul's 9/11 op-ed in the New York Post: "never forget" means backing sick responders, "standing up for the police officers who protect our city when their resources are threatened," and "refusing to let this solemn anniversary become a source of division"

The governor's office reposted Hochul's New York Post op-ed on the morning of the 25th anniversary. The piece profiles four children of 9/11 victims who went into the NYPD, FDNY and nursing, and casts "never forget" as a standing obligation: health care and benefits for responders with 9/11-related illnesses, support for police "when their resources are threatened," and a refusal to let the anniversary "become a source of division." It does not name Blakeman, Mamdani or the headscarf fight, but the closing lines ("refuse to allow hatred, suspicion or division to diminish the spirit New Yorkers showed") track the language she has used against Blakeman's "Hijab Hochul" attack. Original: nypost.com/2026/09/10/opinion/new-york-must-never-forget-9-11-and-turn-sorrow-into-service/

Blakeman filmed an endorsement of Brooklyn congressional candidate Joel Anabilah-Azumah, whose 2024 post calling 9/11 "an inside job" is still up; Nadler and Velázquez call it appalling two days before the 25th anniversary

City & State's First Read (Sept. 9, Rebecca C. Lewis) reported an unlisted YouTube video in which Blakeman records an endorsement of Anabilah-Azumah, the Republican and Conservative nominee against Rep. Yvette Clarke, saying he "is going to make a great member of Congress." Anabilah-Azumah's 2024 X post says "9/11 was an inside job" and "history is pretty clear on that." The same video shows endorsements of Asm. Michael Novakhov and Sen. Steve Chan. Blakeman previously filmed with Rochester GOP leader Marcus Williams, who had shared a video blaming "Zionists" for 9/11. On Sept. 10 amNY reported Reps. Jerry Nadler and Nydia Velázquez condemning the endorsement; state Democratic spokesman Addison Dick called it "disqualifying." Neither the Blakeman nor the Anabilah-Azumah campaign responded to City & State. The story lands the same week Blakeman told 9/11 attendees to turn their backs on Mamdani. amNY article body could not be fetched; row built from the City & State text and search excerpts.

Headscarf fight reaches Nassau town hall: Muslim residents press North Hempstead board to condemn Blakeman's "Hijab Hochul" post; three council members sign a letter, the supervisor and three others have not

At the Tuesday, Sept. 8 North Hempstead Town Board meeting, Muslim residents asked officials to condemn Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman's social-media post captioned "Hijab Hochul. Kathy's Latest Costume: Whatever the Audience Wants," saying it was hurtful and fed Islamophobia. Resident Ali Mohamed asked the board's Republicans to sign a letter condemning the post; Council Members Robert Troiano Jr., Christine Liu and Mariann Dalimonte had signed the letter Troiano drafted. Speakers pressed Supervisor Jennifer DeSena and Council Members Dennis Walsh, Edward Scott and Yaron Levy, who had not signed, to add their names. Per Long Island Press, Sept. 9. The controversy row "Headscarf backlash and the 9/11 25th-anniversary commemoration" remains active.

Blakeman campaign releases a McLaughlin internal showing Hochul 49.6, Blakeman 45.7 among 800 likely voters (Aug 27-31); release omits margin of error, mode and question wording

On Sept. 8 the Blakeman campaign released a McLaughlin & Associates survey of 800 likely voters fielded Aug. 27-31: Hochul 49.6%, Blakeman 45.7%, undecided 4.7%. The campaign called the 3.9-point gap inside the margin of error but did not publish a numerical MOE, survey mode, weighting or question order. Other toplines from the release: Hochul 42/55 favorable/unfavorable, Blakeman 40/30 with 30% unfamiliar; 56% "time for someone new" vs 38% "deserves reelection"; among the 80% who said they knew both candidates, Blakeman led 52-44 (threshold undefined). Context: this is a campaign-sponsored poll from a Republican firm. The most recent independent poll, Siena Aug 3-6 LV, had Hochul 49-39; a Democratic-aligned Concord/ERN poll Aug 19-21 had 50-34. Logged in the polls table flagged is_partisan. No Hochul campaign response in the release.

State Democratic Committee takes "The Cost of Bruce Blakeman" tour to Western New York: Adrienne Adams, Rep. Tim Kennedy and Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan headline a Sept. 12 canvass launch in Amherst

The NYS Democratic Committee announced a Sept. 12 noon canvass launch in Amherst as part of its statewide "The Cost of Bruce Blakeman" tour. Listed participants: LG nominee Adrienne Adams, Rep. Tim Kennedy, Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan, WNY AFL-CIO Area Labor Federation president Denise Abbott and NYS AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer Rev. Terrance Melvin Sr. The party's framing: Blakeman's policies would raise costs and property taxes, plus criticism of his armed provisional-deputy program and 287(g) cooperation. The advisory is paid for by the state committee and says it was not authorized by any candidate committee, which keeps the spending off the Hochul campaign's books. No Blakeman response in the advisory. Location released only to credentialed press.

Hochul calls Blakeman's escalating "Hijab Hochul" attack "reprehensible"; Blakeman doubles down citing his nephew killed on 9/11 and ties her to Mamdani and "Global Intifada"

Sept. 3: The headscarf fight moved to a third round. After Blakeman's Sept. 1 post ("Hijab Hochul. Kathy's Latest Costume: Whatever the Audience Wants"), Hochul called the attack "reprehensible." Blakeman did not back off: in a statement invoking his nephew Tommy (state court officer Thomas Jurgens), killed on 9/11 while giving first aid to a burned woman, he said Hochul "has aligned yourself with Zohran Mamdani who won't speak against 'Global Intifada' which was the goal of his murderers." The Post noted Blakeman himself wore a head covering at a Sikh event last year. Hochul's office again cited the 2022 Ronkonkoma mosque visit and Officer Didarul Islam's funeral as precedent. This is the first time either side has used "reprehensible"; it follows Hochul's Sept. 2 on-camera answer ("says more about him") and her X reply to Trump. Logged Sept. 5 (missed Sept. 3-4 runs).

Backfill: Blakeman on Newsmax tells Hochul and Mamdani to skip the 25th-anniversary Ground Zero ceremony: "Hopefully they won't go, but if they do, turn your back on them"

Aug. 31: In a Newsmax "National Report" interview, Blakeman said he sympathizes with the current and retired Port Authority officers who asked Hochul and Mayor Mamdani to stay away from the Sept. 11 Ground Zero commemoration, and that if they attend anyway, attendees should stage a peaceful protest: "Hopefully they won't go, but if they do, turn your back on them." He compared the ceremony to a wake ("If you're asked not to attend a wake, you shouldn't attend"). Blakeman was a Port Authority commissioner on 9/11 and lost his nephew, state court officer Thomas Jurgens, in the South Tower collapse; the interview extends to Hochul a "turn your back" call he had previously aimed only at Mamdani (Aug. 5). Hochul's office has said she will attend and that Muslim New Yorkers were among the first responders. Missed by prior runs; logged Sept. 5 with the Matzav write-up as the accessible source (Newsmax segment is the original).

Blakeman tells JNS he would "take action" against Mayor Mamdani over "virulent antisemitic comments," says the governor has the power; describes becoming more religiously observant

In a Sept. 1 video interview with JNS (published Sept. 1, 9:12pm), Blakeman said that as governor he would tell Mayor Zohran Mamdani to stop making what he called "virulent antisemitic comments" and, if he did not, "take action against him, which the governor has the power to do." He said that during the 2024 Columbia encampment he "would have told the mayor to take control of the situation or I would." The interview also covers his personal religious observance: a kosher kitchen, Shabbat services roughly twice a month at the Jewish Center of Atlantic Beach, and his wife Segal Magori Blakeman's role in that shift. Blakeman did not specify which gubernatorial power he would use against a sitting mayor; state law provides a removal process under Public Officers Law §33 but it has never been used against a NYC mayor. Fits the established pattern (JTA June 1; Crown Heights July 15) of Blakeman framing the race around Mamdani.

Blakeman campaign mails official-looking "memorandums of tax assessment" to NYC homeowners, soliciting donations off the pied-à-terre list he criticized the city for releasing

City & State obtained a Blakeman for New York mail package sent to a Queens couple: a letter headed "memorandum of tax assessment" saying "according to our records, you own a secondary property" subject to the pied-à-terre tax, plus a Blakeman letter blaming "Kathy Hochul and Zohran Mamdani" and a $50+ contribution ask. The header reads "Not official government business" and the footer carries the required "Paid for by" disclosure. The recipients own one home and are not subject to the tax; the source who shared the photos said they panicked. The campaign did not answer how addresses were chosen; the likely source is the ~950,000-address Department of Finance list Blakeman had attacked the city for publishing. Election lawyer Sarah Steiner called it "manipulative scaremongering" but said it is technically legal. Note for readers: the tax is a city law the governor signed, but the rollout was the city's, not the state's.

Hochul answers Blakeman on the headscarf: "that says more about him than it does anybody else"; office cites 2022 Ronkonkoma mosque visit and Officer Islam's funeral as precedent

Hochul's first direct on-camera response to the headscarf pile-on: "I was invited as a guest, and I always wear the appropriate attire, whether I am going to a temple... an Orthodox community or... a catholic church in the Vatican." On Blakeman's Newsday remark that wearing a hijab and calling herself a feminist are incompatible: "I just love it when men lecture women on whether or not they are a feminist." Her office pointed to prior head coverings at a 2022 Ronkonkoma mosque that had been attacked and at the funeral of NYPD Officer Didarul Islam. Blakeman said his post was not an attack on Muslims and that he visits mosques regularly as county executive. CAIR-NY's Afaf Nasher said tying the visit to 9/11 is inappropriate. The visit was Friday Aug 28 at the Islamic Cultural Center of New York on the Upper East Side.

Steamfitters Local 638 endorses Blakeman, his campaign's latest building-trades pickup

Blakeman's campaign announced the endorsement of Steamfitters Local 638 UA, which represents welders, HVAC technicians and sprinkler fitters in NYC and Long Island. Business manager Robert "Bobby" Bartels Jr. framed it around energy bills, public safety and skilled-trades work. The announcement was a campaign press release; it did not describe the union's endorsement process or include a Hochul response, and no membership figure beyond "thousands" was given. It follows the intra-labor split logged in June–August, in which several building-trades locals broke from the AFL-CIO line on Hochul.

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 posts the headscarf photo, calls it "political pandering" and "tone-deaf" before 9/11; Jewish Council for Public Affairs CEO calls his post Islamophobia

Blakeman's first public entry into the headscarf story: a social-media post depicting Hochul in the head covering, accusing her of "political pandering" he called "especially tone-deaf" less than two weeks before the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, responded on X: "There are far too many political leaders exploiting the 9/11 anniversary to (re)normalize Islamophobia — and it's disgusting." Blakeman, who is Jewish, has campaigned heavily on antisemitism and public safety. The same JTA item notes Hochul's campaign has her at a MET Council Rosh Hashanah food-distribution event in Brooklyn on Sept. 2 with Comptroller Mark Levine and Council Member Lincoln Restler. Blakeman's post is documented only through JTA's account; the post itself was not retrieved for this entry.

Retired Port Authority officers ask Hochul to skip the 25th-anniversary Ground Zero ceremony; she says she will attend

The Retired Port Authority Police Benevolent Association, through president John McDevitt, sent letters on Aug. 14 asking Gov. Hochul and Mayor Mamdani not to attend the Sept. 11 25th-anniversary ceremony at Ground Zero, saying their presence would inflict "deep pain" on victims' families, survivors and first responders. The group's stated objection to Hochul is her decision to light One World Trade Center for Muslim American Heritage Month — it says it did not object to the proclamation itself, only to using the World Trade Center site for the observance. The letters surfaced publicly Aug. 29. Hochul rejected the demand and says she will attend; Mamdani also plans to attend. The dispute feeds directly into the separate backlash over the Aug. 28 headscarf clip, with both threads now tied to the Sept. 11 anniversary ten days out.

Backfill: Blakeman campaigns in Otsego County with running mate Todd Hood, pitching fire/EMS funding and Marcellus Shale drilling

Blakeman visited the Otsego County fire training center in Milford (Oneonta area) on Tuesday, Aug. 25, meeting emergency services personnel and filming a campaign video. He was joined by running mate Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood and comptroller candidate Joseph Hernandez, and repeated his pledge to "open up the Marcellus Shale to bring down energy costs." Notable: Hood is simultaneously a named plaintiff in Bourgault v. Hochul, the sheriffs' suit against the 287(g) ban.

Backfill: Hochul one-on-one with NBC New York; $36M victim-services money followed News 4 reporting on unexpected cuts

In a one-on-one with Melissa Russo (aired Aug. 28), Hochul discussed Blakeman and Trump's Lake Ontario renaming order. Accountability context for the tracker: NBC frames the $36M victim-services announcement as coming AFTER News 4 reported unexpected cuts that jeopardized services for crime victims and sexual assault survivors, including children — i.e., the funding restored money to programs already disrupted, rather than expanding them unprompted.

Hochul headscarf clip: office defends her as national right-wing outlets escalate ahead of 9/11 anniversary

Hochul spoke Friday, Aug. 28 at the Islamic Cultural Center School in the Bronx wearing a black headscarf. A clip posted Sunday, Aug. 30 by the "End Wokeness" X account drew 4M+ views, and Republican figures — Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX), the NY Young Republican Club, Newsmax's Rob Schmitt and others — attacked her as hypocritical on feminism, with several invoking the upcoming 25th anniversary of 9/11. UPDATE Aug 31: the pile-on went national (Daily Wire, Townhall, National Pulse, Dave Rubin), and Hochul's office defended her, saying she respects 9/11 victims and their families while rejecting anti-Muslim hatred (per South Shore Press); the Islamic Cultural Center School posted that the visit was "an honor" and "meaningful recognition." Hochul previously wore a headscarf at the July 2025 funeral of slain Muslim NYPD Officer Didarul Islam. No Blakeman campaign comment found as of Aug 31. The pile-on lands as Blakeman courts outer-borough and suburban voters on public-safety themes.

Campaign week wrap: Hochul opens a Queens field office attacking Blakeman on Medicaid and data centers; Blakeman works the State Fair

NY1's week recap adds two stops not previously logged: Hochul headlined the opening of a campaign office in Jamaica, Queens, telling Democrats Blakeman "supports the cuts in Medicaid" and "data centers in every single community," while Blakeman campaigned at the State Fair Friday saying Hochul is "not backing our farmers" and calling New York "the most overtaxed state in America." Marist's Lee Miringoff frames Blakeman's Trump tightrope and Hochul's downstate-governor burden. Hochul spokeswoman Sarafina Chitika responded to Blakeman's "computer" ad: "The Governor misspoke, immediately apologized, and got back to work."

Backfill: Hochul and Kevin Bacon promote her repeal of restrictions on dancing in bars and restaurants

On Aug 28 Hochul appeared with actor Kevin Bacon to highlight her policy eliminating outdated restrictions on dancing in bars and restaurants — a Footloose-themed publicity event for a quality-of-life deregulation she has made part of her affordability-and-fun pitch in the campaign's final stretch.

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.

Blakeman on Capital Tonight: Nassau will file its own complaint against the 287(g) ban, and he disputes the Siena poll's funding

In a Capital Tonight interview (aired Aug 26, 7:30pm), Blakeman said Nassau will comply with the 287(g) ban but file a SEPARATE complaint piggybacking on the sheriffs' Bourgault suit — "my sheriff is appointed," so Nassau is "in a different situation than the other sheriffs." He said the law was "written with the blood of the victims of illegal migrants" and claimed "there were no deaths at the hands of ICE in Nassau County"; the Hochul campaign rebutted by citing an ICE detainee found dead in a Nassau County jail cell in September 2025. On polling, he cited internal numbers and a co/efficient survey putting him "within four points," and claimed the Siena poll is funded by New York State — Siena spokesman Steve Greenberg said the poll is funded by ReconMR under a licensing agreement and receives no state money. Declined to defend Trump's Canada tariffs: "I'm running for governor."

Blakeman launches digital ads reviving Hochul's 2024 "Black kids ... computer" remark, calling it a racial stereotype

The Blakeman campaign launched a digital ad campaign Aug 26 targeting Hochul over her May 2024 Milken Institute remark that "young Black kids growing up in the Bronx ... don't even know what the word computer is" — a comment she said the same day she regretted ("I misspoke"). The campaign characterized the remark as a racial stereotype and said video and related material would run across major social platforms immediately. The release did not disclose the ad spend or how long the ads will run.

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.

Hochul campaign marks five years with gun, spending and health-cost claims; no Blakeman response in the release

Campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki credited Hochul with stronger gun laws, medical-debt protections, and inflation and energy rebate checks. The campaign claims more than 10,000 illegal guns taken off New York streets and nearly $4 billion in public safety spending since 2021. The claims are campaign figures, not independently verified here. The release included no response from Blakeman.

Hochul says she urged Mamdani to focus on city government rather than Israel

In a wide-ranging New York Times interview published Aug 20, Hochul said she encouraged Mayor Zohran Mamdani to concentrate on city government after his sharp criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month. Her quote: "I encourage him to — 'let's focus on the blocking and tackling of city government.' That is where I believe the main focus should be." JTA/New York Jewish Week summarized the exchange Aug 21 and noted some New York Jewish leaders, including the head of the Jewish Federations, have accused Mamdani of inciting violence. Hochul endorsed Mamdani in February 2026 and the two have appeared together repeatedly, most recently at an Aug 12 ICE press conference; this is the sharpest public daylight between them logged here. NYT interview is paywalled; JTA carries the direct quote and links the original.

Blakeman campaigns with House Speaker Mike Johnson; Hochul campaign counters with Medicaid and SNAP cut numbers

Blakeman appeared with House Speaker Mike Johnson in Nassau County on Friday Aug 21 and said it was important to keep Johnson in his post; Johnson called Blakeman a strong candidate. The Hochul campaign responded that Johnson led House Republicans last year in passing a bill cutting Medicaid and SNAP, which it says cost nearly 500,000 New Yorkers health coverage including nearly 30,000 in Nassau County, and cited Blakeman's prior comment that he would cut Medicaid in half. Hochul spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki framed the appearance as an endorsement of the Trump agenda. The Hochul campaign's 500,000 / 30,000 coverage-loss figures are campaign claims and are not independently verified here.

Hochul launches her first two TV ads of the cycle: a Buffalo pizzeria affordability spot and a negative ad tying Blakeman to Trump

Reported Aug 20 by City & State. Hochul's first two general-election TV ads began airing Thursday Aug 20. The first features her first job at a Buffalo pizzeria and touts universal free school meals and middle-class tax cuts; the second ties Blakeman to President Trump, who has called him "100% MAGA." The campaign describes both as part of a "multimillion dollar" buy running through Election Day on broadcast, cable, digital and streaming — no precise dollar figure disclosed, so no finance row was created. Campaign manager Preston Elliot also attacked Blakeman's use of AI in campaign material, the subject of the state Democratic Party's Aug 11 Board of Elections complaint already tracked here. The state Democratic Party is holding roughly 150 organizing events Aug 22-23 as a pre-Labor Day coordinated-campaign push.

Blakeman tells Livingston County GOP rally Hochul is "the worst governor in the United States of America"

Blakeman spoke for nearly 30 minutes to more than 120 people at the Avon Inn on Monday evening (reported Aug 19), hosted by the Livingston County Republican Committee alongside Rep. Claudia Tenney, Sen. Pamela Helming and Assemblywoman Andrea Bailey. He tied Hochul to Mayor Mamdani ("Comrade Kathy"), called New York 50th of 50 in economic outlook and "the most overtaxed state," said electric bills run 70 percent above the national average because of a "green energy scam," and called the ban on extracting Southern Tier natural gas "a crime," recounting Trump telling him "drill, baby, drill." He also criticized cashless bail, sanctuary policies, and S.9316's gender-neutral parentage language. The reporter noted Blakeman never used the word "affordable" though it was printed on his podium sign.

Blakeman calls farmland solar "a total scam" at Batavia stop, urges drilling New York natural gas

At an Aug 16 GLOW-region stop at the Cornell Cooperative Extension Ag Education Center in Batavia (reported Aug 19), Blakeman called utility-scale solar on farmland "a total scam," alleging out-of-state and foreign developers collect subsidies while donating to Hochul, and said New York should extract its own natural gas reserves instead. He also claimed New York electric bills run 70 percent above the national average across 48 rate increases under Hochul, and that the state spends about $8 billion on services for people in the country illegally, roughly $81,000 per person. Both figures are fact-checked separately. He pledged not to forget upstate regions and pointed to his 12-point 2025 Nassau reelection in a county where Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 110,000.

Safer Streets: Hochul and NYPD Commissioner Tisch tout record crime reductions in NYC public housing

Hochul appeared with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Aug 18 to highlight what the state and city describe as record-breaking crime reductions in public housing developments and citywide. Comes four days after President Trump campaigned with Blakeman on crime at the Nassau police academy.

Blakeman campaigns in Orleans County with running mate Todd Hood: New York is "in a death spiral"

Blakeman made two Orleans County stops on Sunday, Aug 16, with Assemblyman Steve Hawley and running mate Todd Hood, the Madison County sheriff, attacking Hochul on taxes, utility bills and what he called socialist policy. Hood's own sheriff's office dropped its 287(g) ICE agreement two days later.

Trump tours Nassau police academy with Blakeman, Blanche and Patel; Hochul campaign fires back

Trump visited the Nassau County Police Department's Center for Training and Intelligence at Nassau Community College on Aug 14 with AG Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel, touting FBI preliminary 2025 data showing violent crime down an estimated 9.3% nationally (murder down 18.1%) and backing Blakeman's run for governor — his second in-person boost this year. Hochul campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki: the governor "has invested billions in public safety" while "MAGA all the way" Blakeman "let violent crime spike to decade highs" in Nassau; a second campaign statement called Blakeman "a MAGA fanboy who'd rather be at Mar-a-Lago right now." The visit landed the same day agencies statewide, including Nassau's police and sheriff's departments, owed status reports on their 287(g) ICE agreements to the Office of Immigrant Trust.

Blakeman disputes Siena poll showing Hochul up 10, calls race "neck and neck"

A day after Siena's first likely-voter poll put Hochul ahead 49-39, Blakeman rejected the result, saying "all of the polls we have seen in the last two months have us virtually tied with Kathy Hochul" and hitting Hochul on taxes, electric bills and crime. No public poll in that window shows a tie; the closest, a Red Oak Strategic poll commissioned by the pro-Blakeman Strong and Safe super PAC, showed Hochul up 4.

NYS Democratic chair Jacobs files BOE complaint over Blakeman's AI ads, alleging violation of 2026 disclosure law

State Democratic Committee chair Jay Jacobs filed a complaint Aug 10 with the State Board of Elections alleging Blakeman's AI-generated ads depicting Hochul and Mamdani violate the 2026 election law requiring "materially deceptive media" in political communications to carry a "has been manipulated" disclosure. Blakeman calls the ads satire and says Democrats are "trying to cheat." Also: https://patch.com/new-york/longisland/state-democrats-file-complaint-over-blakeman-s-ai-ads-accuse-county-exec

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

Siena: Hochul leads Blakeman 49-39 in first likely-voter poll — lead halved from June

Siena's first likely-voter poll of the cycle (811 LV, Aug 3-6, MOE +/-4.2) has Hochul up 49-39 — half her 52-32 June lead among registered voters. Blakeman leads the suburbs 49-41 and independents 45-40; Hochul leads NYC 64-19. Blakeman's favorability improved to 33-26, though 40% still don't know enough about him. Voters prefer Hochul on affordable housing (+16) and prices (+7); 52-25 support her data-center moratorium. Likely-voter screens typically tighten races, but this is the closest public head-to-head from a nonpartisan pollster this cycle.

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.

Blakeman takes radiation fight to Town of Niagara, accuses Hochul of "hands-off" response to contaminated properties

Campaigning Saturday with the grassroots group Save Our Backyards Niagara, Blakeman accused Hochul of failing to "take charge" of the radioactive-contamination issue affecting homeowners on Chester and Fox avenues in the Town of Niagara. Second WNY environmental attack stop in a week after the Catskills solar event; Hochul's office had previously demanded the EPA speed its Niagara-Erie radiological review (July), saying no acute risks were found.

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 takes campaign national on Sunday Morning Futures, contrasting NY and Florida budgets

Blakeman appeared on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures (Aug 9), arguing Hochul has made a "far-left pivot," comparing New York's budget unfavorably with Florida's, and pointing to progressive influence in state politics. A national Sunday-show hit aimed at Republican donors and base voters; no new policy proposals were announced.

Blakeman takes "green energy scam" attack to the Catskills, targeting 1,200-acre solar project

Blakeman rallied at Forestburgh town hall (Jul 30) against RWE's proposed Town Line Solar project — 200MW solar plus 100MW battery storage across 1,200+ acres in Thompson and Forestburgh — calling state renewable siting "Kathy Hochul's scam on all the ratepayers" and pledging "I will end the green energy scam" as governor. Joined by Sen. Peter Oberacker and Assemblymember Chris Tague. He attacked ORES as state "big-footing" of local communities. RWE spokesperson countered that the project meets growing electricity demand and brings tens of millions in local tax revenue. Backfilled from Jul 31 Radio Catskill report; makes utility-scale solar siting an explicit general-election issue.

Blakeman calls Kalshi lawsuit "hypocritical," says Hochul walked away from deal he pegs at $10B over five years

Campaigning in Albany Aug. 5, Blakeman attacked the state's lawsuit against prediction-market platform Kalshi, arguing Hochul should have accepted a proposed settlement — a 6% tax on prediction-market trades that, per Wall Street Journal reporting cited by Blakeman, could have generated $10B over five years. He called the suit hypocritical given last year's casino approvals and framed prediction markets as personal choice. Hochul's office responded that Kalshi "blatantly violated state law," put consumers including minors at risk, and that "weak attempts to self-regulate are meaningless." The suit seeks fines and restitution that could total $36B.

Pro-Blakeman super PAC poll shows race at 47-43; public polling last had Hochul up 20

A Red Oak Strategic poll commissioned by the pro-Blakeman "Strong and Safe" super PAC — a previously unreported committee — puts Hochul at 47%, Blakeman 43%, 10% undecided among 2,000 registered voters surveyed Jul 7-12 (MOE ±2.2). It also reports Hochul approval at 39/56 and Blakeman leading independents 54-33. The partisan-sponsored numbers contrast sharply with Siena's June public poll, which had Hochul up 52-32.

Blakeman says Democrats will try to "cheat," won't commit to accepting election results without caveat

At a Penn Station press conference Jul 29, Blakeman said Democrats have "consistently tried to cheat" and would accept the outcome only "if the results of the elections are fair." Asked for evidence, his campaign cited two examples: the PCFB's since-reversed denial of his matching funds and his exclusion from speaking at the Dominican Day Parade. On Fox Business that morning he said Democrats would attempt to "steal" the election; the state BOE said the New Jersey registration error he cited could not occur under New York's system. Hochul's campaign called it "embracing Trump's election denial lies." The same presser included attacks on Mamdani's tax policies.

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.

Blakeman attacks Hochul for praising Bragg after she suggests he could one day be U.S. attorney general

Speaking Sunday Jul 26 at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, Hochul praised Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and — after briefly misspeaking "AG" for "DA" — said he could one day become U.S. attorney general. Blakeman called Bragg "the most soft-on-crime DA in the state," saying under him "violent offenders get charges knocked down" and "repeat criminals walk free." Hochul's team stood by the remarks. Bragg prosecuted the Trump hush-money case; crime framing is central to Blakeman's campaign.

Blakeman attacks Hochul and Mamdani over "inheritance tax," says family homes and farms could be forced into sale

In a Sunday X post with video, Blakeman claimed Hochul and NYC Mayor Mamdani "want to increase the number of people subject to an inheritance tax," arguing family farms, businesses and homes would have to be sold to pay it, and pledged to "stop it" as governor. The post does not cite a specific Hochul proposal; New York levies an estate tax (not an inheritance tax), and no current Hochul proposal to expand it was identified in the article or accessible reporting.

Blakeman won't say whether Nassau will comply with 287(g) wind-down order; lawyers reviewing, written response promised by Aug. 14

After the AG's Office of Immigrant Trust ordered Nassau to unwind its 287(g) agreement by Aug. 25, Blakeman said county police and sheriff's department lawyers are reviewing the law and the letter, with a written response due by Aug. 14. He has taken no action to change the agreement and says other county officials with similar deals are exploring separate legal options. Blakeman vowed in May to defy the state limits ("make my day"). Sets up a direct legal collision between the sitting governor and her challenger in his own county weeks before early voting.

Blakeman calls for statewide halt on battery storage facilities, citing East Hampton fire

Blakeman called Jul 23 for an immediate statewide halt to battery storage facilities until regulators can guarantee safety, tying it to an East Hampton battery fire and alleging PFAS-contaminated runoff reached groundwater. His campaign release asserted independent testing found PFAS but published no test results. He accused the Hochul administration of withholding information about the incident, cited Niagara County radioactive waste and the Bethpage Grumman plume as state failures, and repeated his pledge to cut utility bills in half without explaining how.

Six months out from the next executive budget, Hochul and Blakeman preview competing fiscal approaches

A Jul 23 NYSOP analysis frames the race around the FY2028 budget: phased-in federal H.R. 1 changes will hit Medicaid eligibility (recertification burdens; ~400,000 already dropped from the expanded Essential Plan) and shift SNAP costs to the state. Hochul told Spectrum her strategy is trimming "bloated" Medicaid spending, claiming the CDPAP transition "saved over two billion dollars." Blakeman: "We don't have a revenue problem... we have a spending problem," pledging to cut fraud, taxes and utility bills. CBC's Andrew Rein warned vague cuts won't solve out-year gaps; FPI's Emily Eisner said new revenue would be required to shore up coverage. Neither candidate backs income-tax hikes.

Blakeman vows to reverse New York's all-electric buildings law and restore natural gas in new construction

Blakeman called the state's all-electric mandate for most new buildings "unscientific" and "unaffordable," arguing it raises housing costs and that the grid can't handle the added demand, and pledged to reverse the natural-gas restrictions if elected. The law, phasing in over the coming years under the CLCPA framework Hochul backs, targets one of the state's largest emissions sources. The vow puts the in-progress All-Electric Buildings Act promise squarely on the November ballot, alongside his earlier pledges to rescind the data-center moratorium and cap-and-invest.

On Face the Nation, Hochul defends one-year data-center ban — "in a very short time, I changed my position" — and says feds are "dismantling" election security

In a July 19 national interview, Hochul gave her fullest defense yet of EO 62's one-year large-scale data-center moratorium, acknowledging she reversed her earlier localities-decide stance ("in a very short time, I changed my position") after concluding towns lacked negotiating clout against 30+ applicants; she said seven agencies will set rules on grid contributions, water use and tax breaks, and dismissed the White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge as unenforceable. She also said the federal government is "dismantling" election-security protections, cited her new law barring ICE agents from polling places, and voiced confidence in World Cup final security after 1,000+ preparation exercises. Rush transcript also posted at governor.ny.gov.

Hochul rolls out nearly 100 Albany County endorsements as Tonko casts Blakeman as a "mini-Trump"; Blakeman hammers energy costs

Hochul's campaign rolled out endorsements from nearly 100 Albany County elected officials Friday, including Albany Mayor Dorcey Applyrs and County Executive Dan McCoy, at an event tying Blakeman to Trump — Rep. Paul Tonko called him a "mini-Trump" and cited his tariff support and White House Rose Garden appearance. Blakeman, who appeared with construction leaders earlier in the week, countered that Hochul's energy mandates force families to pay "up to 70% more for electricity" and pledged to "scrap this green energy scam" and bring back natural gas. Hochul appears with AG Letitia James and union leaders in Manhattan Saturday.

Blakeman tours Crown Heights with GOP officials, campaigns on antisemitism concerns

The Crown Heights Republican Committee hosted Blakeman for a neighborhood tour and discussion focused on rising antisemitic incidents and Jewish community concerns, joined by Republican elected officials from Jewish communities statewide — part of his outreach in heavily Democratic Brooklyn.