Long before Bruce Blakeman emerged as New York’s Republican gubernatorial candidate promising change, he was a college student assigned to drive Nancy Reagan.
Blakeman’s first significant political role came as a volunteer for Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign. The opportunity unexpectedly placed him close to the fiercely protective woman who was soon to become the nation’s first lady.
“She liked and trusted me,” Blakeman told The Post in a recent interview. “She was worried about her husband’s safety. She was very, very protective of her Ronnie.”
Driving “Fancy Nancy” to fundraisers was hardly a glamorous assignment, but it taught Blakeman the importance of loyalty, discretion and political access. It also offered an early glimpse of a man who, he says, was drawn to politics from a young age.
“I got involved in politics at age 7. On Halloween, I went door-to-door with two bags — one to collect candy and another to hand out literature for my dad’s campaign,” he said.
“People loved it,” he recalled. “When homeowners saw a boy volunteering for his dad’s campaign instead of just asking for treats, they liked it.”
Now 71, the longtime public servant is pursuing New York’s highest elected office, hoping to become the state’s first Republican governor in more than two decades on November 3.
Blakeman is widely viewed as the underdog in his effort to unseat Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul. But taking on long odds is nothing new for the Nassau County executive.
Three years after winning election to the Hempstead Town Board in 1993, the Long Island native made a bold move. Rather than seek re-election, he ran for the newly created Nassau County Legislature in a district drawn for a Democrat.
He won — and went on to become the Legislature’s first presiding officer.
“I took a risk,” he said. “I was up for re-election [for the Hempstead Board]. Instead, I ran for the Nassau County Legislature in a district drawn for a Democrat, and I won.”
It was an early instance of Blakeman proving his critics wrong.
Former US Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, a longtime Nassau County Republican power broker who has known Blakeman for 40 years, described him as both fearless and intensely driven.
“Bruce was always a hard worker. He never stopped working,” D’Amato said.
“He’s never afraid to take on a project. If you needed him to do something, he did it.”
Politics was part of Blakeman’s upbringing. His father, Robert Blakeman, served as a Republican state assemblyman during the 1960s.
“My father was ‘Mr. Valley Stream,’” Bruce Blakeman said, describing his father — an influential attorney and World War II veteran — as an inspiration and a pillar of the community. Robert Blakeman died in 2018 at age 92.
The elder Blakeman enjoyed writing and debating legislation, but he disliked the traditional campaign routine of shaking hands and working the streets. His son, by contrast, has always embraced door-knocking and face-to-face politics.
Blakeman attributes his outgoing personality to his mother, Betty, who served in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II.
“My mom was a big personality. Anyone who met my mother remembered her for her strong personality and beauty,” he said. “Her love and compassion continue to guide me in everything I do.”
One of five children, Blakeman grew up in a family that valued hard work. During the summers, he held jobs as a busboy, janitor, dishwasher and bartender.
At 12, he was already comfortable taking the Long Island Rail Road into Manhattan alone or with friends.
“We’d roam around the city all day. I was always fascinated by the city,” Blakeman said.
Standing 6 feet 1 inch, Blakeman excelled at basketball at Valley Stream High School. He played shooting guard and small forward, recalling, “I could play above the rim. I could dunk easily.”
His basketball ambitions ended when he broke his ankle on the first day of practice during his senior year. He later attended Arizona State University, where he met his first wife, Nancy Shevell, before studying at California Western Law School in San Diego.
“It was exciting to be in different places,” Blakeman said. “But I always gravitated back to New York.”
In his 20s, Blakeman entered presidential politics, supporting Gerald Ford’s re-election campaign in 1976.
At that year’s Republican National Convention, however, he said he was inspired by a speech from Ford’s rival, Ronald Reagan. While still in law school, Blakeman volunteered for Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign.
Reagan’s campaign entrusted Blakeman with the sensitive job of serving as Nancy Reagan’s personal driver and assistant. She had numerous influential connections in New York society, he said.
“Nancy was very kind, very thoughtful. People often underestimated her,” Blakeman recalled, explaining that he primarily drove her to campaign fundraisers.
After graduating from law school, Blakeman returned to New York, joined his father’s law firm and soon became active in Nassau County politics.
His ambitions, however, extended beyond local office. At one point, he even considered a campaign for New York City mayor.
Blakeman ran as the Republican candidate for state comptroller in 1998 but lost to Democratic incumbent Carl McCall. The following year, he suffered another setback when he lost his seat in the Nassau County Legislature.
Three years later, then-Gov. George Pataki — the last Republican to hold statewide office — appointed Blakeman as a commissioner on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The appointment came only months before terrorists hijacked planes and brought down the World Trade Center, which was owned by the Port Authority, on Sept. 11, 2001. Nearly 3,000 people were killed, and Lower Manhattan was devastated.
As a Port Authority commissioner serving on several key committees, Blakeman helped with the city and region’s recovery.
The tragedy was also deeply personal.
“My nephew, court officer Tommy Jurgens, was murdered while administering first aid in Tower 2. The building fell on him,” Blakeman said.
Jurgens’ body was never recovered. Only his gun and badge were found.
Blakeman served on the Port Authority’s World Trade Center and Security committees and participated in redevelopment planning for the Freedom Tower and Lower Manhattan.
He also attended the funerals of many people killed in the attacks.
“I gave eulogies on behalf of the governor. It was a horrible time, a dark time,” Blakeman said.
Even after the Sept. 11 recovery effort, Blakeman’s appetite for elected office remained strong.
He made an unsuccessful bid for the US Senate in 2010, losing in the Republican primary, and was defeated by Democrat Kathleen Rice in a 2014 race for a Long Island congressional seat.
His personal life was more successful. After his divorce, Blakeman found love again with Segal Magori, now a Nassau County Family Court judge. The couple married in 2015.
His political fortunes improved several years later. In 2021, he defeated Democratic incumbent Laura Curran in the Nassau County executive’s race, an outcome many observers regarded as an upset.
“That was a race nobody thought I would win,” Blakeman said.
He won re-election as county executive comfortably last year and announced his campaign for governor soon afterward.
Blakeman has said his Jewish faith is central to his life. He also expressed disgust over what he described as antisemitism within the Democratic Party.
“I have a strong belief in God. You’re more likely to be productive and less likely to get into trouble if you have faith,” he said.
D’Amato said Blakeman’s persistence and resilience make him a formidable candidate.
“He lost a couple of races but he never gave up,” D’Amato said.
Blakeman continues to challenge those who doubt his chances.
“People don’t think I can win the race for governor. I’m going to win,” he said.
