Just over three years after a Long Island Republican gave New York its closest gubernatorial race in decades, another one announced his own bid against incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman officially launched his campaign on Tuesday, setting off what promises to be a contentious primary for the GOP nomination.

Blakeman enters the primary contest as the underdog. Stefanik has had weeks on the campaign trail already, and she spent months before that actively laying the groundwork for her campaign, at a time when Blakeman needed to focus on his own reelection. Existing public polling shows Stefanik crushing Blakeman in a hypothetical matchup, with the county executive receiving less support in those polls than even Rep. Mike Lawler, who has since decided

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