约克——州长凯西·霍楚尔（Kathy Hochul）与她的共和党对手布鲁斯·布莱克曼（Bruce Blakeman）周二晚间同台辩论，但唐纳德·特朗普总统的影响力却笼罩全场。
YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul and her Republican foe Bruce Blakeman were on the debate stage Tuesday night, but it was President Donald Trump who loomed large.
在长达一小时的论坛中，霍楚尔花费了大量时间抨击布莱克曼那位极具争议的政治盟友，而这位共和党提名人则主要专注于攻击霍楚尔的执政记录——这反映了两人截然不同的策略：选民们会拒绝一位特朗普的坚定支持者，还是拒绝一位在奥尔巴尼执政了过去五年的现任州长？
Hochul spent much of the hour-long forum knocking Blakeman for his deeply polarizing political ally while the GOP nominee largely fixated on attacking her record — a reflection of their divergent strategies: Will voters reject a staunch Trump friend or an incumbent who has presided for the last five years in Albany?
两位候选人就负担能力、犯罪、数据中心和移民执法等问题展开了交锋。但在几乎每一个议题上，霍楚尔都设法将她的共和党挑战者与特朗普联系起来。
The two candidates sparred over affordability, crime, data centers and immigration enforcement. But on virtually every issue, Hochul found a way to tie her Republican challenger to Trump.
“你是唐纳德·特朗普粉丝俱乐部的会长，”霍楚尔对布莱克曼说。“你对他如此崇拜，真是荒谬，天哪。”布莱克曼则表示，霍楚尔利用总统来转移人们对其错误政策的关注。
“You’re the president of the fan club of Donald Trump,” Hochul said to Blakeman. “It’s absurd how adoring you are of him, my gosh.”Blakeman said Hochul was using the president to deflect from her misguided policies.
“当你谈论唐纳德·特朗普、唐纳德·特朗普、唐纳德·特朗普时，那是因为你除了这些别无他谈，因为你的执政记录是一场灾难，”布莱克曼说。
“When you talk about Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Donald Trump that’s all you can talk about because you have a record of misery,” Blakeman said.
相比之下，霍楚尔本人备受争议的政治盟友、纽约市长佐兰·马姆达尼（Zohran Mamdani）直到这场由Spectrum News和NY1主办的一小时辩论进行到约45分钟时才被提及。
By contrast, Hochul’s own controversial political ally, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, wasn’t referenced until roughly 45 minutes into the hour-long debate, hosted by Spectrum News and NY1.
两人之间的这场唯一一场辩论凸显了霍楚尔和布莱克曼各自的弱点，也强调了他们正如何试图利用选民对特朗普和现任官员的愤怒来为自己争取优势。
The only debate between the two candidates highlighted the vulnerabilities of Hochul and Blakeman — and underscored how they’re trying to leverage anger at Trump and incumbents to their respective advantage.
这场州长竞选的潜在影响远不止于奥尔巴尼。布莱克曼和霍楚尔都在努力开展强有力的领衔竞选活动，以提高各自党派的投票率，并支持在关键众议院选区竞选的下层候选人。这些选战的结果将决定哪个党派能够控制这个势均力敌的众议院，并影响特朗普总统任期最后两年的走向。
The likely impact of the race for governor extends far beyond Albany. Both Blakeman and Hochul are trying to mount strong top-of-the-ticket campaigns to boost turnout for their parties and bolster down-ballot candidates in crucial House races. The outcome of those contests stands to determine which party will control the closely-divided chamber and the final two years of Trump’s presidency.
民调显示，在特朗普重返白宫两年后，选民对现任官员在生活成本问题上的表现依然感到不满，并似乎准备在全国各地的激烈选战中拒绝共和党候选人。
Voters remain restive with incumbents over the cost of living and appear poised to reject Republican candidates in tight races across the country two years after Trump’s stunning White House return, polls have indicated.
这两种现实在纽约州州长竞选中发生了碰撞——这场角逐将决定特朗普是否仍是民主党人的凝聚力来源，或者选民是否已准备好拒绝多年来的一党统治。选民调查显示，现任州长一直领先于她的共和党挑战者。
Both realities are colliding in the race for New York governor — a contest that will determine whether Trump still remains a unifying force for Democrats or if voters are ready to rebuff years of one-party rule. Voter surveys have shown the incumbent with a consistent lead over her GOP challenger.
霍楚尔抨击布莱克曼与这位共和党总统关系密切，而该总统在其家乡州并不受欢迎。她坚称，由共和党人担任州长将对这个民主党占主导地位的州产生广泛影响。
Hochul lit into Blakeman for his ties to the GOP president, who is unpopular in his native state — insisting that a Republican as governor would have broad ramifications for a Democratic-dominated state.
“我的对手曾这样说：他说他要把特朗普式的领导风格带到奥尔巴尼，”霍楚尔说。“他说他要将医疗补助计划削减一半。他还说他要让美国移民及海关执法局在我们的街道上横行。”她随后补充说，布莱克曼组建了一支“让美国再次伟大（MAGA）民兵组织”来协助巡逻长岛。
“My opponent has said this: He says he’s going to bring Trump-style leadership to Albany,” Hochul said. “He says he’s going to cut Medicaid in half. And he says he’s going to let ICE run rampant in our streets.”She later added Blakeman formed a “MAGA militia” to help patrol Long Island.
纽约州民主党人寄希望于这个深蓝州的选民会拒绝布莱克曼。身为拿骚县行政长官的布莱克曼今年已两次与特朗普共同出席集会。反过来，共和党人认为，选民已经厌倦了民主党人控制着这个高税收州的所有权力杠杆，而这里的能源和住房成本已大幅飙升。共和党希望布莱克曼能利用选民认为民主党已过度左倾的看法，从而扭转全国性的政治气候，实现一场对霍楚尔而言堪称惊人的胜利。
New York Democrats are banking that voters in this deep blue state will spurn Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, who has twice rallied with Trump this year. Republicans, in turn, believe voters are exhausted with Democrats controlling all levers of power in a high-tax state where the cost of energy and homeownership have spiked. The GOP wants Blakeman to harness the perception that Democrats have drifted too far to the left to buck a nationwide political climate and deliver what would amount to a stunning victory against Hochul.
然而，特朗普对布莱克曼来说一直是个重大难题。布莱克曼正寻求成为自2006年以来首位当选纽约州州长的共和党人。这位总统在三次白宫竞选中都输掉了纽约州，但他仍保留着“让美国再次伟大”忠实支持者的拥护——布莱克曼若想在全州范围内具备竞争力，迫切需要这一基本盘。特朗普上周前往雪城为布莱克曼举行集会，并敦促共和党选民踊跃投票。
Trump, though, has been a major conundrum for Blakeman, who is seeking to become the first Republican elected New York governor since 2006. The president lost New York in his three White House campaigns, but retains backing from the MAGA faithful — a base that Blakeman desperately needs in order to be viable statewide. Trump traveled to Syracuse last week to rally for Blakeman and urged GOP voters to turn out.
赌注很大。霍楚尔的竞选团队一直在抨击布莱克曼，指责特朗普的关税政策以及他与伊朗冲突后导致的高油价。上周，一名移民与海关执法局官员在曼哈顿枪击了一名男子，这进一步凸显了特朗普的强硬驱逐政策。
The gamble is a tough one. Hochul’s campaign has hammered Blakeman over Trump’s tariffs and the high gas prices following his war with Iran. The shooting of a man in Manhattan last week by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer only served to highlight Trump’s aggressive deportation strategy.
“布莱克曼可以通过向选民充分解释当前正在发生两件独立的事情来克服这一点，”共和党州司法部长候选人萨里塔·科马蒂雷迪的策略师比尔·奥莱利说。“联邦政府和州政府是两回事，而且它们都存在问题。布鲁斯可以证明我正在参加一场州级竞选。”而布莱克曼确实如此做了，他在辩论中花费大量时间批评霍楚尔的政策。他还试图与特朗普拉开距离，指出虽然总统反对堕胎，但布莱克曼自称是“支持选择权”的。他还表示支持为无证移民设立的客工计划——这也是他与特朗普的另一个分歧点。
“Blakeman can overcome this by very much explaining to voters there are two separate things going on,” said Bill O’Reilly, a strategist for Republican state attorney general candidate Saritha Komatireddy. “The federal government and the state government are separate things and they both have problems. Bruce can show I’m running in a state race.”And Blakeman did just that, spending much of the debate criticizing Hochul’s policies. He also showed some daylight with Trump, noting that while the president is opposed to abortion, Blakeman describes himself as “pro-choice.”He also expressed support for a guest-worker program for undocumented immigrants — another point of divergence with Trump.
尽管这位共和党候选人尚未提供一套详细的政策主张——他承诺要降低公用事业账单和税收——但布莱克曼猛烈抨击了霍楚尔对公共安全的处理。他在活动结束时才提到曼达尼的名字，当时他批评了州长与曼达尼的政治联盟。
Though the GOP candidate has not provided a set of detailed policy proposals — he’s vowed to cut utility bills and taxes — Blakeman blasted Hochul’s handling of public safety. He did not mention Mamdani’s name until the end of the event, when he knocked the governor’s political alliance with him.
“如果你想和他一起竞选，那也没关系，但我现在就告诉你，佐兰·曼达尼是反犹太主义者，他是反基督徒的，我相信他不具备美国价值观，”布莱克曼说。
“If you want to campaign with him, that’s fine, but I’ll tell you right now Zohran Mamdani is an antisemite, he’s anti-Christian and I believe he doesn’t have American values,” Blakeman said.
布莱克曼是拿骚县行政长官，他试图激发独立选民、郊区选民和犹太选民的担忧，这些选民一直对曼达尼的崛起感到警惕——曼达尼是一位民主社会主义者，曾批评以色列。
Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, sought to stoke the concerns of independent, suburban and Jewish voters who have been alarmed by the rise of Mamdani, a democratic socialist who has criticized Israel.
温和派人士霍楚今年与曼达尼结成了联盟。这位极左翼市长在2月支持了她的连任竞选，此举有助于压制副州长安东尼奥·德尔加多发起的党内初选挑战。州长一直是哥谭市市长可靠的援助来源，她增加了州政府的援助，并支持对纽约市昂贵的第二套住房征收附加税，以缓解该市的财政困境。
Hochul, a moderate, has forged an alliance with Mamdani this year. The far-left mayor endorsed her reelection bid in February, a move that helped stifle Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado’s primary challenge. The governor has been a dependable source of help for Gotham’s mayor, boosting state aid and backing a surcharge on pricey New York City second homes to ease the city’s financial woes.
与特朗普非常相似，这位市长也对一个极其忠诚的选民基础拥有影响力，而霍楚将需要纽约市选民高投票率的支持，以扩大她的胜选优势。
Much like Trump, the mayor also holds sway over an intensely loyal base and Hochul will need New York City voters to turnout in high numbers to pad her victory.
民调显示，霍楚一直领先于布莱克曼，尽管她的表现不如其他竞选连任的州级民主党人，如州总检察长莱蒂西亚·詹姆斯和审计长汤姆·迪纳波利。这位共和党人也在独立选民中一直保持领先。
Polls have shown Hochul consistently leading Blakeman, though she is underperforming compared to the other statewide Democrats running for reelection, like state Attorney General Letitia James and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. The Republican has also led consistently with independent voters.
虽然霍楚本人的受欢迎程度往往平平——马里斯特学院最近的一项民调显示她的支持率为43%——但选民对特朗普的看法更为负面。在同一项民调中，他的支持率为38%。
And while Hochul’s own popularity is often so-so — a recent Marist University poll showed her favorable rating at 43% — voters view Trump even more negatively. He held a 38% favorable rating in the same poll.
“布鲁斯·布莱克曼这位候选人一有机会就会给这届政府一个巨大的拥抱，”前民主党籍前州长大卫·帕特森的助手摩根·胡克说。“当然，霍楚团队难道不想领先30个百分点吗？当然想。但我们不要假装10个百分点的领先优势不是一个无法逾越的领先优势。”尽管发生了一系列丑闻，迫使两任行政长官在任期届满前辞职，第三任行政长官在争议阴云下放弃寻求连任，但纽约州共和党仍渴望夺回民主党已把持20年的这一职位。
“You have a candidate in Bruce Blakeman who gives this administration a monster bear hug every chance he gets,” said Morgan Hook, a former aide to Democratic ex-Gov. David Paterson. “Sure, would the Hochul team like to be up by 30? Of course. But let’s not pretend that a 10-point lead is not an insurmountable lead.”The New York GOP is eager to flip an office Democrats have held for 20 years despite a string of scandals that have forced two chief executives to quit before their terms expired and a third to not seek reelection under a cloud of controversy.
霍楚是在安德鲁·科莫辞职后，于2021年升任州长，目前正在寻求连任。她在2022年击败共和党人李·泽尔丁赢得了完整任期，当时泽尔丁与她的得票率差距仅为6个百分点。
Hochul is seeking reelection after ascending to the governor’s office in 2021 following Andrew Cuomo’s resignation. She won a full term in 2022 against Republican Lee Zeldin, who came within 6 points of unseating her.