{"id":7425,"date":"2026-08-26T06:10:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T06:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7425"},"modified":"2026-08-26T06:10:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T06:10:01","slug":"michael-goodwin-blakeman-finds-hochuls-weakest-spot-her-lefty-alliance-with-mamdani","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7425","title":{"rendered":"Michael Goodwin: Blakeman finds Hochul’s weakest spot — her lefty alliance with Mamdani"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

For months, Gov. Hochul\u2019s Republican opponent, Bruce Blakeman, has been searching for a compelling argument that would turn the political tide in his favor.<\/p>\n

Read more Chucky-masked sicko who terrorized Philadelphia citizens is captured in Vegas after 2-week manhunt<\/a><\/p>\n

Heart be still, he might have struck gold just in time.<\/p>\n

Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, is laser focused on the incumbent\u2019s too-cozy relationship with Gotham\u2019s socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an alliance the GOP nominee believes is distorted because, as Blakeman sees it, Mamdani is calling the shots and Hochul is tagging along for the ride.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Mamdani the commie and comrade Kathy,\u201d he told me Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The governor\u2019s odious habit of doing the mayor\u2019s bidding is becoming a staple of Blakeman\u2019s pitch to voters that Mamdani is \u201crunning the Democratic Party and Hochul is taking orders from him.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a powerful message about an outrageous alliance waiting to be exploited. <\/p>\n

The governor\u2019s five-year Albany spending spree, including her bail-out of Mamdani\u2019s extravagant budget with billions of state money, and her passage of the pied-\u00e0-terre tax, demolish forever the Big Lie that she is a moderate.<\/p>\n

\u2018Helpful\u2019 alliance: Kat<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s a ruse that the lefty media are happy to swallow hook, line and sinker. <\/p>\n

Hochul repeated the false claim in a recent interview with Politico, saying \u201cI\u2019m a moderate Democrat,\u201d while also acknowledging she and Mamdani frequently see things the same way.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think our interests are more aligned than people believe. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a socialism versus capitalism debate,\u201d she insisted.<\/p>\n

Oh, but that\u2019s exactly what it should be and would be if she hadn\u2019t surrendered the high ground in a craven bid to attract the mayor\u2019s youthful followers. It doesn\u2019t bother her that many are anti-Israel and anti-American.<\/p>\n

Nor does she seem even mildly troubled that Mamdani doesn\u2019t believe Israel should exist as the Jewish homeland.<\/p>\n

Asked by Politico about Mamdani campaigning for her, she said, \u201cI think he\u2019ll be helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n

The alliance touches on the battle roiling the Democratic Party, and where Hochul stands. <\/p>\n

For example, it\u2019s not clear what she thinks of Hasan Piker, the racist and antisemitic streamer who declared that \u201cAmerica deserved 9\/11.\u201d<\/p>\n

Piker\u2019s latest outrage was a recent statement where he said American Jews are effectively to blame for violence against them when they support Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone is going to come around and take action,\u201d Piker said, \u201cnot against the state of Israel, mind you, but against American Jews.\u201d<\/p>\n

The outrage was too much even for Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan\u2019s radical Dem nominee for Senate, who campaigned with Piker in the past. <\/p>\n

This time, he said he opposes \u201cany rhetoric that puts the community at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

No word from Mamdani, of whom Piker said recently on Twitch, \u201cI love the guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also said he finds it \u201cawesome\u201d that Mamdani surrounds himself with some people who are \u201ccooler\u201d than he is, apparently meaning more radical.<\/p>\n

He has also faulted Mamdani for endorsing Hochul, saying she could not be trusted.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not aware of any comment where Hochul denounced Piker, or raised questions about Mamdani\u2019s relationship with him.<\/p>\n

\u2018Super\u2019 backing<\/h2>\n

Count on Blakeman and the two super PACs supporting him to refuse to allow her to get away with that. If she can\u2019t denounce vile creatures like Piker and demand that Mamdani do the same, she deserves to be toast.<\/p>\n

The opportunities for Blakeman come at a critical time. <\/p>\n

Although a recent Siena poll showed he had cut Hochul\u2019s lead in half, to 10 points, he still faces a steep climb.<\/p>\n

Read more Dolly Parton grew up in a 1-bedroom cabin with 11 siblings: A look at the late country legend\u2019s early life<\/a><\/p>\n

The poll\u2019s best news for him was that he holds a five-point lead among independent voters, who outnumber registered Republicans in the state.<\/p>\n

He also holds an eight-point lead in downstate suburbs, but is getting absolutely crushed in the city, 64%-19%. If anything like that holds, Hochul would win in a landslide.<\/p>\n

But Blakeman is fortunate in that two super PACs are picking up the fight for him. <\/p>\n

Because campaign laws prohibit any coordination, Blakeman said he has had no contact with either group.<\/p>\n

One of them is called Strong and Safe New York and is backed by Knicks owner James Dolan. It started running ads on TV and social media attacking the governor\u2019s record.<\/p>\n

\u201cKathy Hochul blames President Trump for everything,\u201d a narrator says in one ad. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut the president didn\u2019t raise our energy bill 48 times \u2014 Hochul did.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also says, Trump \u201cdidn\u2019t put illegal migrants in hotels and stick us with the bill \u2014 Hochul did.\u201d<\/p>\n

And this, too, \u201cThe president didn\u2019t raise taxes and tell New Yorkers to get the hell out \u2014 Hochul did.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second super PAC is getting started and organizer Jason Meister believes he can raise millions to tie Hochul to Mamdani and defeat what he calls the \u201cMarxist, Communist wing of the Democratic Party.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meister, an insurance executive and a Trump supporter, ran a \u201cDefend NYC\u201d super PAC that targeted Mamdani during last year\u2019s mayoral race while backing Andrew Cuomo.<\/p>\n

Meister told me he sees this year\u2019s race as actually much easier than that one, which he described as telling Republicans and moderate Dems to \u201chold your nose and vote for Cuomo.\u201d<\/p>\n

This time, he said, he\u2019ll target those Dems with a similar message to get them to vote for the GOP candidate, telling them to hold their nose and vote for Blakeman.<\/p>\n

Roadmap for Bruce<\/h2>\n

Meister is aware of the odds, and the fact that the recent GOP highwater mark in the five boroughs came with Lee Zeldin\u2019s 2022 race against Hochul and Trump\u2019s 2024 campaign. <\/p>\n

Both got just 30% in the city, and lost the state by about six points.<\/p>\n

Meister sees those contests as roadmaps, especially because black voters, a traditional strength for Dems, have not been turning out in big numbers for socialists in New York and around the \u00adnation.<\/p>\n

He sees the situation as an advantage for Blakeman, in that Zeldin and Trump did not have the benefit of running while there was a socialist in City Hall.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

He believes many city voters are repelled by Mamdani\u2019s agenda of \u201cdestruction by design\u201d and the spreading of socialism across the country.<\/p>\n

Mamdani got about 1.1 million votes last year, but almost as many New Yorkers voted against him. <\/p>\n

In a crowded field, Cuomo finished second with 906,000 votes and Curtis Sliwa came in third with nearly 154,000.<\/p>\n

Meister sees a golden opportunity in that result, saying \u201cwe are aiming for all those people who didn\u2019t vote for Mamdani as well as those who did and already are disenchanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the right approach, and probably the only way Blakeman can win the state. <\/p>\n

By doing even modestly better than the 30% of the city vote that Trump and Zeldin got, he could end Hochul\u2019s reign of error.<\/p>\n

Read more Taylor Swift honors Dolly Parton\u2019s \u2018everlasting\u2019 legacy in heartfelt tribute after country icon\u2019s death<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For months, Gov. Hochul\u2019s Republican opponent, Bruce Blakeman, has been searching for a compelling argument that would turn the political tide in his favor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-michael-goodwin","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nMichael Goodwin: Blakeman finds Hochul's weakest spot - her lefty alliance with Mamdani - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7425\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Michael Goodwin: Blakeman finds Hochul's weakest spot - her lefty alliance with Mamdani - Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For months, Gov. 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