A former Democrat who served on the City Council is backing Republican Bruce Blakeman over incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul in this year’s election, the GOP candidate’s campaign announced Wednesday.
Bob Holden, who represented Middle Village and Maspeth on the City Council, said he wants “public safety” at a news conference announcing the endorsement.
“Does anybody think we are safer now? Look at the streets. I was in Manhattan yesterday. It’s mayhem,” said Holden — adding he got clipped by an e-bike riding in the wrong direction.
Holden is a registered Democrat but has caucused with Republican members as part of the city council’s Common Sense Caucus. Four years ago, Holden endorsed Republican Lee Zeldin over Hochul and he also backed GOP mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa in last year’s election, which was won by socialist Zohran Mamdani.
“I never identify, or I haven’t in the last few years, with the Democratic Party, with some of their policies — so this was not a difficult decision,” he said. “We need to do something in New York State and Kathy Hochul has to be out of office come January the 1st.”
Blakeman is currently within single digits of eclipsing Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul with only six weeks left until the Nov. 3 election, a new Sienna poll found.
Hochul campaign brushed off the endorsement.
“‘Dems for Blakeman,’ led by a guy who ran for office as a Republican and 4 years ago endorsed the Republican for governor, is about as real as Bruce Fakeman’s AI slop TV ads, “ campaign rep Ryan Radulovacki said in a statement
