Republican New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman is now reportedly raising concerns about election integrity as he campaigns to unseat Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, claiming his political opponents will attempt to “steal” the election.
Blakeman made the remarks during a Wednesday morning interview on Fox Business with host Maria Bartiromo, who asked whether he believed he could win under New York’s current election system.
“I’m wondering if you feel you have a shot under the current rules in New York state?” Bartiromo asked.
The Fox Business host then pointed to neighboring New Jersey, where Gov. Mikie Sherrill recently announced that thousands of non-citizens had been registered to vote because of what she described as a “serious software error.” According to the state’s internal investigation, approximately 6,600 non-citizens were registered, and about 400 votes were cast during the 2023 and 2024 election cycles.
“Are you going to be facing that in New York?” Bartiromo asked.
Blakeman responded by outlining his campaign’s plans for election security.
“Well we budgeted a significant amount of money for ballot security,” he said.
He added that his campaign also plans to deploy thousands of volunteers to monitor the election process.
“Number two, we’ll have thousands of volunteers to make sure that there are no dirty tricks, that they don’t try to steal the election.”
Blakeman then corrected himself mid-sentence, saying, “they will try to steal the election.”
The Republican candidate argued that he has already faced efforts to disadvantage his campaign.
“Just like they wouldn’t let me speak at the Dominican Parade because they didn’t want a Republican to speak, just like they tried to eliminate my ability to get matching funds but a court of five Democrats said that that was cheating and they gave me back the matching funds,” Blakeman said. “Yes, they will try everything.”
His comments come as polling suggests the race has tightened.
According to a Red Oak Strategic poll first obtained by the New York Post, Hochul leads Blakeman by four percentage points, 47% to 43%.
The Post also reported that the survey found dissatisfaction among voters with the incumbent governor. According to the poll, only 33% of respondents said Hochul deserves reelection, while 61% said it is time to give someone else an opportunity. The survey was conducted from July 7 through July 12.
Bartiromo’s questions about election security followed Sherrill’s announcement regarding the voter registration issue in New Jersey.
The disclosure also came one week after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said an investigation had identified approximately 250,000 non-citizens registered to vote across four states: New Jersey, California, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
According to the report, Mullin sent letters to officials in those states demanding they address the issue. He also warned that officials who fail to remove illegal voters could face fines or even “prison time.”
Blakeman concluded the interview by describing himself as “a street fighter,” saying he intends to do everything possible to ensure New York’s election is conducted fairly and that the results are, in his words, “square.”
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