President Trump to Campaign With Bruce Blakeman in Upstate New York
President Trump is preparing to return to the campaign trail in New York, with plans to appear alongside Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman at an event in Syracuse next week.
Trump is expected to join Blakeman in Syracuse on Oct. 9 as the Nassau County executive enters the final month of his campaign against Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul. The exact location and timing of the event have not yet been publicly announced.
The appearance would mark Trump’s first visit to Syracuse while serving as president. He last campaigned in the Central New York city during his successful 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump previously campaigned alongside Blakeman on Long Island in August, appearing with him at the Nassau County Police Academy Center for Training and Intelligence in Garden City. During that visit, Trump praised Blakeman as a longtime friend and political leader.
The president endorsed Blakeman after Rep. Elise Stefanik dropped out of the Republican gubernatorial primary. Blakeman has since secured the Republican nomination and is attempting to become New York’s first Republican governor since George Pataki left office at the end of 2006.
Trump may also make additional campaign appearances in upstate New York later in October. Blakeman’s campaign has been seeking the president’s help in areas of the state where Republicans have historically performed better and where recent polling shows a considerably closer race than in New York City.
A Siena University poll of likely voters conducted in September showed Hochul leading Blakeman statewide 50% to 41%. The same survey showed a much different picture upstate, where Blakeman held a narrow 47% to 44% advantage.
The Siena survey also found a competitive contest in the downstate suburbs, with Hochul holding a 48% to 46% edge. New York City remained Hochul’s strongest region, with the Democratic governor leading Blakeman 61% to 27%.
Another poll released by Quinnipiac University showed a wider statewide advantage for Hochul, putting her ahead 58% to 39%. The differences between the surveys illustrate the uncertainty surrounding the size of Hochul’s advantage heading into the final weeks of the campaign.
Blakeman and Hochul are scheduled to debate on Oct. 13, just days after Trump’s planned Syracuse appearance. With Election Day set for Nov. 3, both campaigns are entering the final stretch of a race that will determine whether Democrats retain control of the governor’s mansion or Republicans reclaim it for the first time in two decades.