Who is Bruce Blakeman, the ‘Almost Orthodox’ Jew taking on Elise Stefanik in the GOP primary for New York governor?
The first Jewish county executive in Nassau history is now taking his suburban brand statewide
Bruce Blakeman, Nassau County Executive, on Dec. 09. Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images
By Jacob Kornbluh December 9, 2025
New York Republicans are gearing up for a competitive and generational race between two Trump loyalists vying to win the state’s governorship, both with close ties to the Jewish community.
Bruce Blakeman, the first Jewish executive of Nassau County on Long Island, launched a bid on Tuesday to challenge incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul in next year’s election. Blakeman, 70, who won reelection last month, said he’d focus on affordability and public safety with an appeal to disaffected Democrats. But first, he will need to win the GOP primary in June, which would mean defeating Elise Stefanik, an upstate congresswoman who has made the fight against antisemitism on college campuses central to her congressional brand.
Stefanik, 41, has leaned heavily on being a protector of the Jewish community amid rising antisemitism and the election of Zohran Mamdani as New York City Mayor. Hochul, who faces a left-wing challenge from her lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado, had endorsed Mamdani in the general election. Stefanik attacked Blakeman’s record in her immediate reaction to his announcement.
In 2022, former Rep. Lee Zeldin, who is Jewish, came within five percentage points of winning the governor’s race, powered by strong Jewish support. Hochul publicly welcomed the possibility of a contested GOP primary, which could strengthen her chances in the general election. A recent poll found that 46% of Jewish voters support her reelection, while 41% would prefer a generic replacement.
Both Republicans maintain strong ties to President Donald Trump, who said Monday that he regards each of them favorably.
Long Island’s “AOB”
Blakeman, a Long Island native, has spoken publicly about the role Judaism plays in his life. The Jewish community in Nassau County, which borders New York City, makes up about 19% of its 1.4 million residents. Blakeman previously served as councilman of the county’s largest town, Hempstead. His father, Bob Blakeman, was a member of the State Assembly.
Blakeman, who is married to Sigal Magori Blakeman, was previously married to Sir Paul McCartney’s current wife, Nancy Shevell. He is a member of the Jewish Center of Atlantic Beach, an Orthodox congregation, and prays every day. He also keeps a kosher kitchen but does not observe Shabbat halachic rules.
“I have to balance my public life with my spiritual life, which is a challenge every day,” Blakeman said in an interview with the Forward in 2022. He joked that he calls himself “AOB,” similar to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s “AOC” nickname: “Almost Orthodox Blakeman.”
After he was elected county executive, Blakeman installed a mezuzah at his new office, saying that “Hashem and spirituality are an important part of my life,” using the Hebrew name for God. “I feel that that’s where I derive my strength from.”
Blakeman wore a yarmulke at his inauguration.
Outspoken critic of antisemitism on the left
Like Stefanik, Blakeman has been an outspoken critic of antisemitism on the left. In 2019, Blakeman said he was one of the candidates considered by the Trump administration to head the State Department’s office of Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism.
Blakeman, who ran for Congress in 2014, accused Democratic politicians of not being courageous enough to stand up to “virulent antisemites” in their own party. “It’s unfortunate that AOC, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib get away with what I consider very antisemitic statements and policies,” he said in the 2022 Forward interview. “If they were in my party, I would do everything in my power to have them thrown out.”
However, in 2024, Blakeman refused to condemn Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has been accused of trafficking in antisemitism — including her suggestion that a Jewish-funded space laser had sparked wildfires in California in 2018 — suggesting she’s simply uneducated. “She doesn’t reflect the great majority in the Republican Party,” he insisted. “But I’ll take her any day over AOC, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar.” Greene has since broken with Trump and accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
In 2024, Blakeman clashed with local Democrats over his plan to mobilize provisional deputy sheriffs in dire situations like a superstorm or terror attack. He called on the Democratic leader of the county legislature, Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, to step down after she compared the move to the Brownshirts, the Nazi’s paramilitary army. Blakeman was also the subject of an antisemitic flier by an employee union, which depicted him with horns, an antisemitic slur.
Last year, Blakeman signed a mask ban into law in response to antisemitic incidents, some perpetrated by protesters wearing face masks.
Blakeman was also vocally opposed to Rep. George Santos, who falsely claimed to have Jewish grandparents who fled persecution during World War II. Santos later resigned and served a jail sentence for financial fraud. Blakeman said the lies about the Holocaust were an affront to the many Holocaust survivors and families of Holocaust victims in his Nassau County district.
Recently, Blakeman strongly condemned the New York Young Republicans after it was revealed that its members were praising Hitler in a group chat.
Blakeman’s alliance with Israel
Blakeman is hawkish on issues related to Israel. In 2016, he spearheaded a twin-city agreement between his township and the Samaria Regional Council, a Jewish settlement in the Samarian hills of the occupied West Bank. He told a local publication he doesn’t view the Jewish communities there as settlements.
Hempstead was the first New York municipality to pass anti-Boycott Divestment and Sanctions legislation in 2016. It was later implemented across the state in an executive order signed by former Governor Andrew Cuomo that prohibits state agencies from investing in companies involved in boycotting Israel. Nassau County’s legislature passed a similar bill that year.
The township enforced the law immediately after Ben & Jerry’s announced in July that it would end its relationship with the Israeli licensee that manufactures and distributes its products in the occupied West Bank.
Trump’s umbrella holder
In 2024, Blakeman was mocked on social media for holding Trump’s umbrella while he delivered a statement to the media following a wake for a slain NYPD officer on Long Island.
“It was an honor to be able to hold his umbrella,” Blakeman recalled at the time in a brief phone interview. “But the whole story is that when we left the funeral home, he had an umbrella and asked me to get underneath. He was holding the umbrella for me, and I said to him, ‘This is the first time a president ever held an umbrella for me.’ And then, as we walked to the podium and he was about to speak, I said, ‘Let me hold the umbrella back.’ And he said, ‘Would you mind?’ and I said, ‘Of course not. Of course, I wouldn’t mind.’ So it was an exchange of honors. The greater honor is mine.”
