A newly created political motion group has vowed to inject hundreds of thousands of {dollars} into the New York gubernatorial race to assist get Bruce Blakeman elected — by highlighting Gov. Kathy Hochul’s ties to “Zohran Mamdani and the radical Marxist, Jihadi wing of the Democratic Party.”
The “Defend Empire State” PAC was created to enhance the Republican’s marketing campaign to knock Hochul out of workplace by Jason Meister, a President Trump supporter who ran a “Defend NYC” PAC that focused Mayor Zohran Mamdani during last yr’s City Hall race.
Governor Kathy Hochul holds a roundtable and press briefing on AI Workforce Impacts. Lev Radin/ZUMA / SplashNews.com
“We’re going to initiate the most aggressive campaign to defeat Kathy Hochul and the Marxist, Communist wing of the Democratic Party Hochul is an enabler of,” Meister, a threat insurance coverage specialist, informed The Post after registering his group with the state Board of Elections.
He called Blakeman a “common sense, right-of-center” candidate who will be a good governor.
“Blakeman will be a check on Mamdani. Hochul isn’t,” Meister said.
A evaluation of marketing campaign information from last yr’s mayoral race exhibits that Meister has entry to well-heeled donors. Hedge fund honcho Bill Ackman and the Airbnb co-founder Joseph Gebbia each donated $1 million to his Defend NYC PAC during the remaining weeks of the marketing campaign.
As an impartial expenditure Super PAC, the pro-Blakeman group can elevate limitless sums of money.
Candidate for New York Governor Bruce Blakeman speaks to the press during a rally to “End Jew Hatred.” Michael Nigro
“Hochul is an accidental governor,” Meister said, referring to the former lieutenant governor assuming the governorship after Andrew Cuomo resigned in 2021 amid sexual misconduct accusations.
“We’re going to expose her record and her relationship with Mamdani.”
Meister said the race has implications beyond New York.
“This is a national conversation. We don’t want the radical Marxist contagion to metastasize to other cities and states,” he said.
Meister serves on Trump’s advisory board and is not afraid to stir up controversy himself.
He informed The Post last yr that the Jan. 6, 2001, riots at the Capitol should be declared a nationwide vacation.
“That would be the biggest way to honor these American heroes who risked their lives, freedom and honor to protest what they perceived to be a stolen election,” Meister said at the time.
Blakeman could use the outside money.
The PAC targets Gov. Kathy Hochul by linking her to “radical Marxist” parts and Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Lev Radin/ZUMA / SplashNews.com
The Hochul marketing campaign and the state Democratic Party mixed have a almost 4-to-1 monetary benefit over Blakeman and the New York Republican Party, with $40 million to spend for the residence stretch.
Another pro-Blakeman Super PAC called “Strong and Safe New York,” which is bankrolled by Knicks proprietor James Dolan, is working a million-dollar advert marketing campaign slamming the incumbent governor.
In response, Hochul’s marketing campaign launched its own multi-million greenback advert offensive last week that hyperlinks Blakeman to Trump, describing her rival as “100% MAGA” and claiming that he’ll “always put Trump ahead of you.”
Trump has a 60% job disapproval fee in New York, according to a current Siena University ballot.
Hochul, 67, defeated Republican Lee Zeldin, now the US Environmental Protection Agency administrator, by 6 proportion factors in 2022. She is now in search of a second full, four-year time period.
Blakeman, 70, is the present Nassau County govt.
State Democratic Party spokesperson Dick Addison responded, “First Bruce Blakeman did Donald Trump’s election denial, now he’s getting propped up by election deniers – like a Trump marketing campaign advisor who desires January 6 to be a nationwide vacation.
“Blakeman and these people are ‘MAGA all the way’ and proud, and New Yorkers want no part of any of it.”
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