Republican Bruce Blakeman is working to expand his voter base by appealing to disenchanted Democrats and independents as he challenges Gov. Kathy Hochul.
As the Nassau County executive, Blakeman is pursuing a strategy to appear on the November ballot under a distinct, independent “Vote Affordable” party line in his campaign against Democrat Hochul.
According to the Blakeman campaign, 66,345 New Yorkers signed petitions to secure this new party line for the upcoming general election.
To appear on the statewide ballot, the campaign needs to gather 45,000 signatures from registered voters, regardless of their party affiliation. Additionally, at least 500 signatures must be collected from each of half of the state’s congressional districts.
Blakeman is also running on the Republican and Conservative Party ballot lines.
The effort to introduce the Vote Affordable line aims to widen Blakeman’s support as he faces the well-favored Hochul in the predominantly Democratic New York.
“The backing of over 60,000 New Yorkers for the Vote Affordable party indicates a grassroots desire to unseat Hochul as governor,” Blakeman stated.
“Under Hochul’s leadership, New York has become the most unaffordable state in the country, and that will change on the first day of my administration,” he added.
