Bronx faith leaders have endorsed Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman in a last-minute show of support for the Nassau County executive’s bid to unseat Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Blakeman appeared with clergy members Thursday, along with longtime Bronx councilman and state Sen. Reuben Diaz Sr., whom he praised as “a great friend, a man of God, a man of family, a man of the people of this city.”
“I want to also thank all of you here today for your vote, for your support, but more importantly, for your blessings,” Blakeman said at Iglesia Cristiana de la Comunidad in the Longwood neighborhood.
“We have to get back to the values of our parents and our grandparents,” said Blakeman, who is Jewish. “The Democratic Party has become a party unrecognizable. This isn’t the party of Bill Clinton. This is a party of people who don’t believe in God and in our values. They worship government.”
“The services provided by faith-based organizations are the quality services that support our community,” he said.
“Our children, our grandchildren, our parents, our grandparents—I believe in faith-based organizations,” Blakeman continued. “Because they do a better job helping people than our government. I will shift funding away from government to faith-based organizations that work in the community and live in the community.”
RELATED: Cause of Death Revealed: Days of Our Lives Star Robert Kelker-Kelly
After the event, Blakeman, 71, said he believes his support for guest-worker permits for undocumented laborers could appeal to Hispanic voters across New York.
“I think that the Hispanic and Latino communities love my positions on immigration because it’s a common-sense approach,” Blakeman said.
“People would like to stay in this country, and if they haven’t gotten in trouble and they’re working, I think they should be able to stay. But they also want the criminals out of their communities. You know, it’s their schools that will be overburdened.”
Blakeman also campaigned in Harlem on Thursday alongside former New Jersey Nets star Jayson Williams.
The Nassau County executive is considered an underdog in his effort to unseat Hochul, 68, who is seeking her second full four-year term.
Election Day is Nov. 3, while early voting continues through Saturday.
MUST READ: The Reality Behind the ‘Screaming Ghost’ Photo That Continues to Haunt Police