Debra Messing backed Republican Bruce Blakeman at a recent Manhattan fundraiser, putting her support behind him instead of Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul. The actress said New York City has changed so sharply that “It’s not the city I love anymore.”
Manhattan fundraiser remarks
Messing told the crowd, “I am so grateful you are running. You are what we need more than anything,” then added, “I believe in all my heart that you are the answer.” She also said, “The decline in this city over the last four years has been so exponential and devastating — economically, socially and on every level.”
She singled out the city’s cost pressures too, saying, “People are just really struggling. They need their utilities to be lower,” and, “It’s just too expensive to live in New York City.” Those remarks tie her endorsement to a practical argument about affordability, not just personality or party loyalty.
From Clinton to Blakeman
The switch is notable because Messing has long been identified with Democratic politics. She once stumped for Hillary Clinton, donated to Cynthia Nixon’s campaign for governor in 2018, and reacted on X in 2019 to a Beverly Hills fundraiser for Republican Trump by writing, “Please print a list of all attendees please. The public has a right to know,”
She has also publicly expressed outrage over Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, put up signs in Manhattan bearing the names and information of hostages being held by the Palestinian terrorists, and begged far-left students to leave the posters up after some were torn down. That history makes the Blakeman endorsement a sharper political turn than a one-off appearance.
New York City and Bruce Blakeman
Messing has also attacked Zohran Mamdani, calling him an “American-hating jihadist” and nicknaming him “Osama bin Mamdani.” She endorsed Andrew Cuomo for mayor in his failed bid against Zohran Mamdani, which shows how quickly her alliances have moved across New York politics.
For Blakeman, the value is simple: a recognizable Brooklyn-born actress is making a public case that New York needs a different direction, and she is doing it in front of donors. Whether that translates into anything measurable for his campaign is the open question; the endorsement gives him attention, but it does not by itself change the race.
