The New York governor’s race has gotten louder, nastier and more contentious as Election Day nears.
And on Tuesday, in the only televised debate of the campaign, the sniping between Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, and her Republican challenger, Bruce Blakeman, reached new levels.
A series of public polls has shown Ms. Hochul leading Mr. Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, by between nine and 19 percentage points. During the debate, she avoided any major missteps while hammering home the central message of her re-election run: tying Mr. Blakeman to President Trump.
Mr. Blakeman, who is seeking to better the results of four years ago, when Representative Lee Zeldin came within six points of beating Ms. Hochul, focused on the issue that seems to resonate most with voters: the high cost of living. His pitch Tuesday night revolved around cutting taxes and bringing down utility bills.
Here are five takeaways from a combative evening.
Trump talk from Hochul
Any time Ms. Hochul has mentioned Mr. Blakeman in recent months, Mr. Trump’s name has not been far behind. Her campaign advertising has almost exclusively been about the relationship between the men, who are friends and appeared together last week at a rally in Syracuse.
During the debate, the governor did not let up. She said that Mr. Blakeman would be a rubber stamp for Mr. Trump’s policies. Whether it was tariffs on Canada, immigration policy or the war in Iran, Ms. Hochul argued that Mr. Trump and Mr. Blakeman were one and the same.
“If he would only end this tariffs tomorrow, we could start seeing grocery prices start going down,” Ms. Hochul said. “End the war with Iran, gas prices start coming down. None of this has to be this way, and you support every single thing that Donald Trump does.”
Her angle of attack made sense given the latest public polling, which found that only 34 percent of likely voters in the state view the president favorably. For his part, Mr. Blakeman said that Ms. Hochul’s refrain showed she did not want to talk about local issues.
“You talk about Donald Trump all the time, because you don’t want to talk about your record,” he said on Tuesday.
Despite backing the president, Mr. Blakeman said he had “very significant policy differences” with Mr. Trump. Mr. Blakeman cited his support for abortion rights and his desire to see guest worker programs expanded.
Who will make New York more affordable?
No issue has animated voters this election more than soaring costs for housing, utilities and food. Much of the debate hinged on each candidate’s assertion that he or she was best positioned to help drive down expenses.
The governor pointed to accomplishments during her term, which include cutting taxes for joint filers earning up to $323,000 and sending $200 rebate checks to qualifying residents for their utility bills, among other policies.
Mr. Blakeman noted that as the leader of Nassau County, he had not raised property taxes. He also castigated the governor for the tax burden residents face and for increases on electricity bills approved by a state commission. New York is among the 10 most expensive states when it comes to electricity costs.
Mr. Blakeman has said he would eliminate state income taxes on single filers making less than $50,000 and joint filers making less than $100,000.
Last year, the governor pushed the state’s Department of Public Service to reject 11.4 percent increases to electrical rates and 13.3 percent increases to natural gas rates. This year, she rejected a legislative push to freeze utility rates for two years.
Mr. Blakeman said he would expand natural gas production in hopes of bringing down energy costs. He was less specific about how he would cut utility bills in half.
Sparks fly over immigration
A back and forth about immigration enforcement consumed much of the early debate, with the candidates differing on who is to blame when federal immigration agents have killed or severely injured people, including an episode last week in the Bronx.
Ms. Hochul said agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency are “out of control.” Under pressure from more progressive lawmakers this year, she approved a ban on formal cooperation with local police agencies.
Mr. Blakeman said these moves had made it harder for law enforcement agencies to detain dangerous criminals.
“This never would have happened, Kathy, if it wasn’t for your policies,” he said of the recent shooting.
For her part, Ms. Hochul said she wanted local police officers not to be “deputized as ICE agents.”
“I’ve talked to members of police departments,” she said. “They just want to do their jobs, and when I changed the law, I got them back to local policing.”
Mamdani’s not on his mind
Ms. Hochul may have not been able not stop talking about Mr. Trump. But Mr. Blakeman was surprisingly silent about Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who endorsed Ms. Hochul earlier this year.
The moderators asked Mr. Blakeman about a recent New York Times report that described him as telling Hasidic leaders that neither the mayor nor the governor would act if riots hit their community.
.
On Tuesday, Ms. Hochul said it was “insulting” for Mr. Blakeman to question whether the police would respond to a crime.
Mr. Blakeman, who is Jewish, said that Mr. Mamdani was antisemitic and that the governor was “campaigning around the state with a guy who doesn’t believe in American values.”
Data centers download
Earlier this year, Ms. Hochul signed an executive order enacting a one-year pause on the building of the largest types of data centers.
During the debate, she was quick to highlight this as a difference between her and Mr. Blakeman. “There’s a high level of anxiety about what these hyper-scale, massive data centers will do,” Ms. Hochul said.
Mr. Blakeman said he opposed a moratorium like Ms. Hochul’s and would leave the decision up to local municipalities.
“You took their right away to make decisions about data centers,” he said.
Grace Ashford contributed reporting.
The post Hochul and Blakeman in Heated Debate on Trump, Mamdani and High Prices appeared first on New York Times.
