在竞选纽约州下一任州长的过程中，共和党人布鲁斯·布雷克曼暗示民主党人可能会窃取选举结果，煽动对移民罪犯的担忧，并发布由人工智能生成的视频，将该州描绘成危险且生活成本高昂的地方。
In his campaign to become the next New York governor, Republican Bruce Blakeman has suggested Democrats might steal the election, played up fears about immigrant criminals and posted AI-generated videos depicting the state as dangerous and unaffordable.
安东尼·伊萨吉雷，纽约讯——在竞选纽约州下一任州长的过程中，共和党人布鲁斯·布雷克曼暗示民主党人可能会窃取选举结果，煽动对移民罪犯的担忧，并发布由人工智能生成的视频，将该州描绘成危险且生活成本高昂的地方。
ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE NEW YORK — In his campaign to become the next governor of New York, Republican Bruce Blakeman has suggested Democrats might steal the election, played up fears about immigrant criminals and posted AI-generated videos depicting the state as dangerous and unaffordable.
周五晚上，他还将与总统唐纳德·特朗普在锡拉丘兹举行集会。这样的信息显然并不旨在争取温和派选民的支持。
And on Friday night, he’ll rally with President Donald Trump in Syracuse. It is not exactly a message that seems geared toward winning over moderate voters.
在共和党人希望吸引那些对日益崛起的进步左翼持警惕态度的中间派选民之际，布雷克曼却转而支持特朗普及其激进的保守策略。在民主党人数比共和党人多出两倍以上的大州中，这种做法让一些人感到困惑。
At a political moment where Republicans are hoping to capture centrists wary of an ascendent progressive left, Blakeman has instead embraced the president and his aggressive conservative tactics. The approach has puzzled some in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 2-to-1.
“如果他想赢得这个职位，却要靠为特朗普摇旗呐喊，那将引发一大堆问题，”民主党籍的前州长戴维·帕特森表示。他说，布雷克曼与总统的结盟“可能会让许多处于中间立场的人彻底倒向另一边”。布雷克曼担任长岛纳苏县行政长官，他将自己塑造成对抗城市进步派力量的堡垒，并推动了与跨性别运动员以及特朗普移民管控政策相关的措施。在佐兰·马姆达尼当选市长后，布雷克曼承诺要建造一道由监控设备组成的“墙”，以保护他所管辖的郊区县。
“If his advertising to get the job is to champion Trump, it’s going to create a whole lot of problems,” said former Gov. David Paterson, a Democrat. He said Blakeman’s alliance with the president “could drive a lot of people who are in the middle over the edge.”Blakeman, who serves as the Nassau County executive on Long Island, has framed himself as a bulwark against urban progressives, pushing policies related to transgender athletes and Trump’s immigration crackdown. After the election of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Blakeman pledged to erect a wall of surveillance gear to protect his suburban county.
但特朗普本人也并未对这一信息起到正面作用。上个月访问纽约市时，这位总统与马姆达尼——美国领先的民主社会主义者之一——表现得十分友好，甚至对他的市长工作表达了乐观态度。
But Trump hasn’t exactly helped that message. While visiting New York City last month, the president was chummy with Mamdani, one of the country’s leading democratic socialists, and even expressed optimism about his work as mayor.
“希望你会是一位出色的市长，”特朗普说道。他本人成长于皇后区，而马姆达尼也正是在那里开始其政治生涯的。
“Hopefully you’re going to be a great one,” said Trump, who grew up in Queens, where Mamdani first entered politics. It’s unclear what Trump will get out of his trip to Syracuse with the clock ticking toward midterm elections where his party’s control of Congress is on the line.
目前尚不清楚，在中期选举日益临近、其所在政党能否保住国会控制权仍悬而未决之际，特朗普此番访问锡拉丘兹能获得什么好处。该州最受瞩目的众议院选举即将举行，共和党众议员迈克·劳勒正努力抵御民主党候选人凯特·康利的挑战。
The most closely watched U.S. House race in the state is hours away, where Republican Rep. Mike Lawler is trying to fend off a challenge from Democratic candidate Cait Conley. On the campaign trail, Blakeman argues he’s winning over Democrats and independents, painting himself as the moderate candidate in his race against incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
在竞选活动中，布莱克曼声称自己正在赢得民主党人和无党派选民的支持，并把自己塑造成与现任民主党州长凯西·霍楚尔竞争时的温和派候选人。对于自己与总统关系密切可能损害其在民主党势力强大的纽约州的胜算这一说法，他予以否认。
He dismisses the idea that his closeness with the president could hurt his chances in blue New York. “I don’t think it has an effect,” he said when asked about his relationship with Trump.
“我认为这不会产生任何影响，”当被问及与特朗普的关系时，他这样说道，“我一次又一次地证明了自己的独立性。我自己做决定，自己掌控局面。”霍楚尔则着重强调布莱克曼与特朗普的紧密联系——这一策略与民主党在中期选举中的整体策略如出一辙——希望借助特朗普低迷的支持率来帮助自己在选举中击败这位共和党对手。
“I’ve proved my independence over and over and over again. I make my own decisions. I call my own shots.”Hochul has emphasized Blakeman’s ties to Trump — mirroring much of the Democrats’ national strategy for the midterm elections — hoping the president’s dismal approval ratings help to sink her Republican foe at the ballot box.
在一次采访中，布莱克曼否认自己在所有问题上都与总统立场一致。“我会针对每个议题，在听取聪明人士的良言建议并基于常识来做出决定，”他说道。
In an interview, Blakeman denied that he was aligned with the president on everything. “I am somebody who takes every issue and makes a decision based on good advice from smart people and common sense,” he said.
例如，谈及特朗普时，布莱克曼表示：“他支持反堕胎，而我支持堕胎权。”他还补充道：“我主张推行一套完善的外来劳工移民计划，而特朗普目前尚未接受这一主张。”尽管共和党长期在纽约州占据政治主导地位，但该党在近年的全州性选举中表现欠佳。自1995年至2006年前州长乔治·帕塔基在任以来，再无共和党人入主州长府邸。如今，纽约州各级政府均由民主党牢牢掌控，民主党在州众议院占据绝大多数席位，在州参议院也拥有两个席位。
For example, Blakeman said of Trump, “he’s pro-life. I’m pro-choice.”He added: “I believe in a comprehensive guest worker immigration program. He hasn’t embraced that yet.”Despite a long history of Republican leadership, the party has not fared well in recent statewide elections. No Republican has taken up residence in the governor’s mansion since former Gov. George Pataki lived there between 1995 and 2006. All levels of state government are firmly controlled by Democrats, and Democrats hold a wide majority of the state’s House seats as well as both Senate seats.
在特朗普介入之前，今年的州长选举中共和党候选人的格局原本与现在大不相同，而布莱克曼则逐渐成为了共和党阵营中的领军人物。
Blakeman emerged as the leading Republican candidate The Republican field for the governor’s race this year was shaping up much differently before Trump waded in.
作为特朗普的盟友，代表纽约州北部保守选区的美国众议员伊莉丝·斯特凡尼克原本有望成为强有力的候选人，但由于特朗普在是否支持她的问题上态度摇摆不定，她于12月出人意料地退出了竞选。
U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Trump ally who represents a conservative district in northern New York, was expected to mount a strong candidacy but unexpectedly dropped out in December after Trump waffled on an endorsement.
代表纽约州哈德逊河谷地区摇摆选区的众议员迈克·劳勒此前曾暗示有意竞选州长，但在特朗普表态支持他连任众议员后便放弃了这一计划——此举被视为促使劳勒继续留在国会的一种手段。随着斯特凡尼克与劳勒相继退出，特朗普迅速转而支持布莱克曼。
U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, who represents a swing congressional seat in New York’s Hudson Valley, had been teasing a statewide run but abandoned the plan not long after Trump endorsed him for reelection to the House a move seen as a way to nudge Lawler back toward Congress. With Stefanik and Lawler out of the picture, Trump swiftly backed Blakeman.
在上一次州长选举中，前长岛众议员、现任特朗普政府环境保护署署长李·泽尔丁以犯罪问题为竞选重点，最终仅以约6个百分点的差距未能击败霍楚尔。如今，尽管犯罪率已显著下降，布莱克曼仍在效仿泽尔丁的竞选策略，主打公共安全议题。
In the last governor’s race, Lee Zeldin, a former Long Island congressman and current Trump administration Environmental Protection Agency head, was able to come within about 6 points of upsetting Hochul by focusing on concerns about crime. Blakeman is recreating elements of Zeldin’s campaign on public safety even though crime rates have dropped significantly since then.
“我认为多年来，纽约州的共和党一直过于追随全国共和党的言论导向，”帕特森说道。
“I think over the years, the Republican Party in New York has spent more time mirroring what the national Republican Party is saying,” Paterson said.