Republican New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman is making a direct play for Democrats frustrated with Gov. Kathy Hochul, arguing that affordability, crime and the party’s move to the left could create an opening among voters who have traditionally supported Democrats.
That pitch was on full display at the Crosstown Diner in the Bronx, where Blakeman rallied alongside former Democratic Bronx Assemblyman Stephen Kaufman. Several voters at the event voiced frustration with Democratic leadership and said they were supporting the Republican candidate.
“They’re not Democrats. They’re socialists and communists,” Kaufman told Fox News Digital. “They’re just not Democrats; they’re not moderates.”
Kaufman accused [1] the Democratic Socialists of America of gaining influence within the party. He warned that Democrats are “rapidly becoming a house of hatred” where moderate voices are no longer welcome.
Blakeman said his conversations with voters show Democrats are prepared to cross party lines. “Every time I go out and meet the people, another Democrat comes up to me and says, ‘Bruce, I’m a lifelong Democrat. I’ve never voted Republican in my life. We’re voting for you,'” Blakeman told Fox News Digital.
Bronx residents who spoke with Fox News Digital cited rising costs, public safety concerns, and the Democratic Party’s increasingly progressive direction. They described feeling politically abandoned by the party they had previously supported.
“It’s not your Democratic Party anymore. It’s not your grandfather’s Democratic Party. It’s become the Democratic Socialist, a.k.a. Communist Party,” Lisa, a resident of the Bronx’s Throggs Neck neighborhood, said.
Another Bronx man criticized socialists over their view of homeowners and faulted Hochul for remaining quiet. “The socialists here literally said we’re land-hoarding if we only have a single-family home or a four-family home and that we were a problem… Kathy was all in support and quiet about it. She didn’t defend the homeowners,” he said.
One registered Democrat said his vote would be determined by the needs of his community and working families, not his party registration. “I’m a registered Democrat. Ask me if I vote that way,” he said. “I vote to what affects me, my community, the people I live with. I vote for who’s going to help the middle class.”
Blakeman argued that Hochul’s record on taxes, utility costs, and public safety gives Republicans an opening in a state long dominated by Democrats. “Kathy Hochul has raised taxes. She’s raised utility rates 48 times. Programs like cashless bail make it easier for criminals to operate in our neighborhoods. So now I have the evidences. I have her report card, and it’s straight F’s,” said Blakeman.
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Kaufman offered his own criticism of Hochul’s energy record, saying utility costs have climbed while her politics have moved further left. “The electricity rates have skyrocketed. She’s had 42 increases over time. She wouldn’t permit building of gas lines. She’s closed utility plants. All she does is move harder and harder to the left. Which don’t represent people in this neighborhood,” he said.
Kaufman also argued that Hochul turns to the party’s left wing whenever political trouble emerges. “Every time she has a problem, she goes crying to the hard left. She’s totally controlled by them,” Kaufman added.
Blakeman promised a sharply different course focused on lower costs and public safety. “I will cut taxes. I will cut utility bills. And I will make for safer communities just like I did in my own county as county executive,” Blakeman said.
Pointing to his tenure as Nassau County executive, Blakeman said he has “not raised taxes a penny in five years” and has cut taxes by $150 million. “I’ll take my record, compare it to hers,” he said, arguing he would “cut their taxes, cut the utility bills and make safer communities.”
The socialist wing has also gained political power in New York, where democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani became mayor and candidates supported by the Democratic Socialists of America defeated Democratic incumbents in congressional primaries.
The movement has posted victories outside New York as well. Melat Kiros defeated longtime Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette in Colorado, while self described democratic socialist Janeese Lewis George captured the Democratic mayoral nomination in Washington, D.C.