Opinion

Stefanik Drops Out; Bruce Blakeman Is Presumptive GOP Nominee For NY Governor

In a stunning turn of events that has reshaped the Republican landscape for New York’s 2026 gubernatorial election, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik announced that she is suspending her campaign for governor and will not seek re-election to her House seat in New York’s 21st District, citing her desire to prioritize family going forward. This decision came barely a month after Stefanik launched her bid in November, setting the stage for what was anticipated to be a fiercely contested GOP primary against Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. With Stefanik’s exit, Blakeman emerges as the presumptive Republican nominee, poised to challenge Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul in what could be a pivotal race for the Empire State. Shortly after her announcement, President Donald Trump endorsed Blakeman, praising him as “MAGA all the way” and signaling strong support from the party’s base.

The antisemitic massacre in Australia did not shock anyone who has been paying attention. What should shock us is not that Jews were targeted, but that so many still pretend this violence is an aberration. It is not. It is the foreseeable outcome of decades of denial—about Islamist antisemitism, about the failure of Western multiculturalism, and about the catastrophic delusion and misdiagnosis by Jewish leadership.

What does “America First” mean concerning foreign policy? In the past year, President Donald Trump reshaped alliances by reaching out to Russia to negotiate an end to its war with Ukraine. Following Israel’s shelling of Iranian military targets, Trump delivered the final blow, taking credit for the victory while Iran’s theocratic regime remained intact. The war in Gaza was paused with a ceasefire that freed all living Israeli hostages, but kept Hamas in power in the portion of Gaza from which Israel withdrew.

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, we had a moment of moral clarity in which we seemed to recognize that the Western world was facing something very serious, and it would have to be dealt with accordingly if we hoped to preserve our civilization as a whole: America, Israel, and Europe equally. We identified the enemy as “radical Islam,” and mobilized our resources to combat it globally.

In the worst attack against Jews since October 7, a father-and-son duo opened fire on a Chanukah celebration in Bondi Beach, Australia, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens more. This attack is what Jews all around the world fear when keffiyeh-clad college students march and politicians refuse to condemn chants of “Globalize the Intifada.” Australia has been the site of numerous antisemitic incidents since October 7, leading everyone from the Chabad rabbi who was killed this weekend to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu begging Australia to do something about its problem with Jew-haters. Now we see what happens when people do not take the warning signs seriously.

When the X account “StopAntisemitism” put out its annual list of finalists for their “Anti-Semite of the Year” award, a social media firestorm was ignited. This was due to the inclusion of Rachel Griffin Accurso, otherwise known as Ms. Rachel, who has built a multimillion-dollar empire on the promise that she is unconditionally “pro-child.” Her brand is pastel-soaked, puppet-filled, and meant for toddlers. Yet a closer look at her public positions reveals a far more selective definition of which children deserve her voice and which ones can be quietly ignored when the politics become inconvenient.