Bruce Blakeman has declared he will win New York’s governor’s race despite widespread skepticism about his chances against incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul.
The Nassau County executive, 71, is vying to become the state’s first Republican governor in more than two decades on November 3, and he enters the contest as a decided underdog. Blakeman has spent decades in public service, but his path to politics began with childhood campaign work that foreshadowed his future ambitions.
“I got involved in politics at age 7. On Halloween, I went door-to-door with two bags — one to collect candy and another to give out literature for my dad’s campaign,” he told The Post in a recent interview.
“People loved it,” he continued, “when homeowners saw a boy volunteering for his dad’s campaign instead of just getting treats.”
That early political education came from Robert Blakeman, a Republican state assemblyman in the 1960s who his son described as an inspiration and pillar of the community. The elder Blakeman, an attorney and World War II veteran, died in 2018 at 92.
“My father was ‘Mr. Valley Stream,'” Bruce Blakeman said, noting that while his dad enjoyed drafting and debating bills, he disliked the ritual glad-handing of campaigning — unlike his son, who revels in pressing the flesh.
Blakeman credits his outgoing nature to his mother, Betty, who served in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II.
“My mom was a big personality. Anyone who met my mother remembered her for her strong personality and beauty,” he said. “Her love and compassion continue to guide me in everything I do.”
One of five siblings, Blakeman developed a strong work ethic through summer jobs as a busboy, janitor, dishwasher and bartender. At 12, he began taking the Long Island Rail Road into Manhattan alone or with friends, roaming the city for hours.
“We’d roam around the city all day. I was always fascinated by the city,” he recalled.
The 6’1″ Blakeman played basketball at Valley Stream High School, where he was a shooting guard and small forward, boasting, “I could play above the rim. I could dunk easily.” His basketball career ended when he broke his ankle during the first day of practice his senior year.
He first attended Arizona State University, where he met first wife Nancy Shevell, before transferring to California Western Law School in San Diego.
“It was exciting to be in different places,” Blakeman said. “But I always gravitated back to New York.”
In his 20s, he backed Gerald Ford for re-election in 1976, but at that year’s GOP convention, he was inspired by rival Ronald Reagan’s speech. He volunteered on Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign while still in law school, a decision that unexpectedly placed him beside the future first lady.
Reagan’s campaign assigned Blakeman the sensitive task of serving as personal driver and assistant for Nancy Reagan, who had many influential friends in New York society.
“She liked and trusted me,” Blakeman told The Post. “She was worried about her husband’s safety. She was very, very protective of her Ronnie.”
“Nancy was very kind, very thoughtful. People often underestimated her,” he recalled, saying he mostly drove her to campaign fundraisers. The job impressed upon him the value of loyalty, discretion and political access.
After law school, Blakeman returned to New York, worked at his father’s law firm and entered Nassau County politics. He was elected to the Hempstead Town Board in 1993, but three years later took a risk by running for the newly created Nassau County Legislature in a district drawn for a Democrat.
“I took a risk,” he recalled. “I was up for re-election [for the Hempstead Board]. Instead, I ran for the Nassau County Legislature in a district drawn for a Democrat and I won.”
He became the body’s first presiding officer, an early example of silencing doubters that would become a pattern in his career.
Former US Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, a Nassau County GOP powerhouse who has known Blakeman for 40 years, described him as driven and fearless.
“Bruce was always a hard worker. He never stopped working,” D’Amato said.
“He’s never afraid to take on a project. If you needed him to do something, he did it.”
Blakeman’s statewide ambitions led him to run for state comptroller in 1998, but he lost to Democratic incumbent Carl McCall. He lost his Nassau County Legislature seat the following year. Three years later, then-Gov. George Pataki, the last Republican to hold statewide office, appointed him a commissioner to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
It was just months before the September 11, 2001 attacks, when terrorists hijacked planes and toppled the World Trade Center, killing nearly 3,000 people. Blakeman’s nephew, court officer Tommy Jurgens, died administering first aid in Tower 2.
“My nephew, court officer Tommy Jurgens, was murdered while administering first aid in Tower 2. The building fell on him,” Blakeman said. His body was never recovered; only his gun and badge.
Blakeman served on the PA’s World Trade Center and Security committees and was involved in redevelopment plans for the Freedom Tower and Lower Manhattan, attending many funerals of attack victims.
“I gave eulogies on behalf of the governor. It was a horrible time, a dark time,” he said.
He made unsuccessful runs for US Senate in 2010, losing in a Republican primary, and for a Long Island congressional seat in 2014, losing to Democrat Kathleen Rice. In his personal life, however, the divorcé found love a second time with Segal Magori, now a Nassau County Family Court judge, whom he married in 2015.
His political career revived in 2021 when he defeated Democratic incumbent Laura Curran for Nassau County executive in what many viewed as an upset.
“That was a race nobody thought I would win,” Blakeman said. He won re-election handily last year and shortly thereafter announced his gubernatorial bid.
D’Amato said Blakeman’s tenacity and resilience make him formidable.
“He lost a couple of races but he never gave up,” D’Amato said.
Blakeman said his Jewish faith is very important to him, and that he was disgusted with what he claims is antisemitism within Democratic Party ranks.
“I have a strong belief in God. You’re more likely to be productive and less likely to get into trouble if you have faith,” he said.
The county executive is still staring down the naysayers.
“People don’t think I can win the race for governor. I’m going to win,” he said.