Blakeman Thanks New Yorkers After Crushing Defeat

"THANK YOU, NEW YORK."

Those were Republican Bruce Blakeman's opening words Wednesday as the Nassau County executive acknowledged his crushing defeat in New York's gubernatorial election, ending a hard-fought campaign to unseat Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.

"This wasn't the outcome we hoped for, but I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who stood with me," Blakeman wrote on X. "I'm proud of what we built together, and my commitment to New York will never change."

The emotional farewell followed a decisive statewide rejection of Blakeman's candidacy, with Hochul securing another four years in Albany by a margin approaching 20 percentage points. As of Wednesday afternoon, unofficial Associated Press returns showed Hochul with 3,551,333 votes, or 60.1%, compared with Blakeman's 2,347,633 votes, or 39.7%. Her advantage exceeded 1.2 million votes, with approximately 88% of the expected vote counted.

The results represented a dramatic improvement over Hochul's 2022 victory against William Floyd graduate and Republican Lee Zeldin, when she won by approximately six percentage points. Geographically, the election revealed a striking divide between New York's population centers and its rural communities.

Despite Hochul's landslide statewide victory, Blakeman was leading in 41 of New York's 62 counties, compared with just 21 for Hochul, according to Wednesday morning county-level returns. But Hochul dominated where the most voters lived. New York City delivered the knockout punch, giving Hochul approximately 76% of the vote compared with 24% for Blakeman.

The governor captured approximately 83% in the Bronx, 82% in Manhattan, 79% in Brooklyn and 72% in Queens. Blakeman's lone New York City victory came on Staten Island, where he received approximately 58%. Hochul's victory also extended nearly two decades of Democratic control of the governor's office. Her running mate, Adrienne Adams, became New York's first Black woman elected lieutenant governor.

While Blakeman closed his campaign with a lengthy message of appreciation, Hochul delivered a considerably shorter acknowledgment on X:

"Thank you, New York."