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Observers and pundits are probably still wondering what has surprised them more about Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign: the lack of high-profile Democratic endorsements for the Democratic front-runner, or the fact that New York Governor Kathy Hochul decided to take the plunge and almost enthusiastically endorse him earlier this week. A few others have come around and joined Hochul in backing the avowed socialist, who looks more likely to be the next mayor come January 1st; however, the stream of endorsements has been more like a trickle than a flood. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is among the critics of the governor’s eager bid to endorse Mamdani. He appeared on 710 WOR’s Mendte in the Morning program to explain the outrage many are feeling in his county at the endorsement.
“Well, I felt that it was a stab in the back,” Blakeman told host Larry Mendte. “These people that want Communist and socialist values -- point to one country where it’s worked… It’s anti-American views that are being spewed by that mayoral candidate. He is a virulent anti-Semite, and we are disappointed and disgusted in Kathy Hochul endorsing a such a candidate that is so far out of the mainstream that it is just incomprehensible.”
Blakeman sides with critics who feel Hochul rushed to endorse Mamdani strictly to score political points without regard for the candidate’s branding: “Those Democrats that refused to endorse Mamdani, they have integrity. They stand up for what they believe in. Governor Hochul has capitulated to the lunatic left that she’s allowed to take over her party… they spew all kinds of rhetoric that is anti-American.”
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