Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman insisted Saturday that recent polls showing Gov. Kathy Hochul widening her lead heading into Election Day are “inaccurate,” claiming the race is a “virtual dead heat.”
“Don’t believe those phony polls,” the Nassau County executive told more than 100 supporters at a campaign rally at Juniper Valley Park in Middle Village, Queens.
He was referring to polls released Wednesday by Siena and Marist showing Hochul leading the race by 14 points and 11 points, respectively.
Blakeman also claimed he’ll pull off an upset like former Republican Gov. George Pataki did in 1994, saying polls were “wrong” then as well.
Among those in attendance were Queens GOP Chairman Tony Nunziato, Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens) and ex-Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens).
The Nassau County executive was also expected to ramp up his get-out-the-vote efforts later in the day by hitting Halloween parades in Maspeth and Glendale and meeting with voters throughout the Upper East Side, while Hochul was scheduled to make campaign stops in Huntington and Brookhaven on Long Island, and in Brooklyn and Queens.
The campaigns traded Halloween-themed attacks Saturday as they made their final pitches to voters.
Blakeman’s social media accounts posted AI-generated photos and video of Hochul dressed as a witch.
“Forget witches. The real Halloween nightmare is four more years of Kathy Hochul!” Blakeman said on X. “DITCH THE WITCH!”
Hochul’s camp sent out a mass email ripping Blakeman’s armed, civilian-volunteer “emergency special deputy sheriffs” program — labeling it as a “militia clusterf**k.”
