New York Police Unions Endorse Republican Blakeman Over Gov. Hochul

Organized law enforcement endorsements in a Democratic-leaning state signal a competitive gubernatorial race eight days before the November 2026 midterms, with public safety policy as the central...

Multiple New York State police unions formally endorsed Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the Republican candidate for governor, at a joint press conference held outside Nassau County's Third Police Precinct in Williston Park on October 26, 2026, according to reporting by the New York Post.

Nassau Police Benevolent Association president Tommy Shevlin spoke at the event, framing the endorsement around policy rather than party. "This election is not about Democrat versus Republican. It's about common sense," Shevlin said, according to the New York Post report. The Nassau PBA represents sworn police officers employed by the Nassau County Police Department, one of the largest municipal departments in the state outside New York City.

The endorsements come eight days before the general election on November 4, 2026. Blakeman is challenging incumbent Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, who took office in August 2021 following the resignation of Governor Andrew Cuomo and was elected to a full term in November 2022 by a margin of approximately 6 percentage points over Republican Lee Zeldin, according to certified results from the New York State Board of Elections.

The specific unions participating in the Monday endorsement beyond the Nassau PBA were not individually itemized in the available source material. The full list of endorsing organizations would be disclosed in any formal endorsement letters or union board resolutions, which are internal documents not yet publicly filed as of this report.

Police union endorsements carry organizational weight because they can translate into campaign volunteer activity, member-directed voter mobilization, and political advertising independent of the candidate's own campaign. Under New York State Election Law, independent expenditures by unions must be reported to the New York State Board of Elections. As of this publication, no independent expenditure filings from the endorsing unions in support of Blakeman's 2026 gubernatorial campaign appear in the publicly searchable Board of Elections database, though filings may be pending given the proximity to the event.

Blakeman has served as Nassau County Executive since January 2022. Before that role, he served on the Nassau County Board of Supervisors. His record on public safety at the county level, which would form the factual basis of any law enforcement endorsement, includes his administration's policies on the Nassau County Police Department budget. Detailed Nassau County budget documents are available through the Nassau County Office of Management and Budget.

Governor Hochul's office had not issued a public response to the endorsement announcement as of the time this story was filed. Her campaign's own law enforcement endorsements, if any, are not detailed in the available source material. A complete comparison of each candidate's law enforcement endorsement tallies would require a review of both campaigns' official endorsement lists and any union political action committee contribution records filed with the New York State Board of Elections.

The broader electoral context in New York is competitive heading into the midterms. A separate New York Post opinion column published the same day noted that while national polling shows voter dissatisfaction with Republican governance, Democratic-controlled states including New York present a more complicated picture for the party, with voters expressing skepticism about one-party state government. Opinion content is editorially distinct from news reporting and does not constitute independent factual verification.

Police union endorsements have historically shifted between parties in New York. The New York City Police Benevolent Association endorsed Republican Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential race, marking a departure from its prior endorsement patterns, according to the PBA's own public statements at the time. The pattern of law enforcement organizations endorsing candidates across party lines has accelerated in state-level races since 2020, though no systematic statewide data cataloging all such endorsements in New York gubernatorial contests is compiled in a single public database.

What remains unknown is the total number of union members represented by the endorsing organizations, the dollar value of any planned independent expenditures in support of Blakeman, and whether additional unions intend to make endorsements before election day. Those figures, if they materialize, would appear in New York State Board of Elections independent expenditure reports, which are required to be filed within 24 hours of an expenditure made within 12 days of an election under state campaign finance law.