Blakeman attacks Hochul over 2024 'Black Bronx kids don't know computers' remark during NY debate
Bruce Blakeman publicly challenged Gov. Kathy Hochul during the Oct. 13 debate by quoting her 2024 remark that 'black Bronx kids' "don't even know what the word computer is," and he then launched a digital ad repeating that line. Hochul had previously walked back the 2024 comment saying she 'misspoke,' and the debate included mutual accusations about associations with extremists.
AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 5 outlets' reporting · Full text read from 3 of 5 outletsHow it's made
What happened
Key facts
- Hochul's 2024 remark quoted in coverage: "young Black kids growing up in the Bronx who don't even know what the word computer is."
- Blakeman called the 2024 remark "reprehensible."
- Blakeman launched a digital ad citing Hochul's 2024 statement after opening a campaign office in the Bronx.
- During the debate Blakeman rejected an accusation from Hochul that he was "palling around with white supremacists."
- Pollfinity surveyed 499 New Yorkers between October 8 and October 12 and found Kathy Hochul at 47% and Bruce Blakeman at 44%.
- When undecided voters were asked their lean, Pollfinity showed Hochul at 48% and Blakeman at 44%.
- A Siena University poll in late September showed Hochul leading Blakeman 50% to 40%.
- Pollfinity reported 6% of respondents undecided and 3% intending to vote for other candidates.
The brief
13 governor debate by confronting her with a 2024 remark in which she said, 'Right now we have you know young Black kids growing up in the Bronx who don't even know what the word computer is.' Blakeman repeated that line onstage and shortly afterward opened a Bronx campaign office and released a digital ad that quoted the 2024 comment.
Hochul has publicly walked the line back before, saying she 'misspoke' when the remark first attracted attention in 2024. The debate in New York City, hosted by Spectrum News, featured sharp exchanges beyond that line: Hochul accused Blakeman of "palling around with white supremacists," an allegation Blakeman rejected during the event.
The exchange occurred in a competitive electoral context highlighted by recent polls; a Pollfinity survey conducted Oct. 8–12 of 499 likely voters showed Hochul leading 47% to 44% with 6% undecided, while other polls place her at wider margins.
Blakeman's decision to open a Bronx office and amplify the 2024 quote through paid digital messaging signals a targeted strategy to press Hochul on past remarks and to contest her standing among Bronx and independent voters.
Sources differ in emphasis: local tabloid coverage foregrounded the quote and the ad, poll reporting emphasized a tight race, and debate previews framed cost of living as the principal issue for voters.
The record in these accounts is limited to the debate exchange, the quoted 2024 line, Hochul's earlier walkback, Blakeman's subsequent Bronx office opening and ad launch, and contemporaneous polling; none of the provided sources supplies fuller context about the setting of the 2024 remark beyond the quoted sentence, nor do they offer independent verification beyond the published recordings and statements cited in coverage.
Why it matters
- Bronx residents are a specific electoral bloc at stake: Blakeman opened a Bronx campaign office and ran a digital ad quoting Hochul’s 2024 line, a concrete tactic aimed at influencing Bronx voters and local turnout.
- Voters identified as undecided in the Pollfinity survey—about 6% of respondents—represent a narrow margin that could alter a race where Hochul led by three percentage points in that poll (47% to 44%).
- Hochul’s prior public walkback that she 'misspoke' matters because Blakeman is using the original 2024 quote in paid messaging to challenge her credibility among independent and Bronx voters, per debate and post-debate reporting.
What to watch next
- Whether Bruce Blakeman expands his Bronx operations or ad buys to widen local outreach before Election Day.
- Whether Kathy Hochul addresses the 2024 remark again in campaign events or advertising to counter Blakeman's line of attack.
- Whether October polling updates—including repeat surveys after the debate—show movement from the roughly 6% undecided voters cited in the Pollfinity survey conducted Oct. 8–12.
How it's being covered
Coverage analysisShow details5 source articles · 5 unique outletsCoverage mix: Mixed· 3 Center · 2 RightWhere the outlets are based: US/Canada 80% · Asia 20%
- Coverage is currently concentrated among outlets based in US/Canada (4 of 5 geographically-identified sources).
How outlets' accounts compare
2 framing differences · 4 uncorroborated claims · 3 information gaps- New York Post foregrounds the 2024 quote and frames Blakeman's ad and Bronx office opening as a direct political hit on Hochul; TimesNow and local outlets frame the contest more through the lens of tight polling and broader debate themes like cost of living.
- TimesNow reports a Pollfinity finding of Hochul 47% and Blakeman 44% from an Oct. 8–12 survey of 499 respondents; New York Post does not provide those poll numbers in its excerpt.
- New York Post links Blakeman's Bronx office opening and digital ad to his debate confrontation, while timesnownews.com and mynbc5.com focus on polling and debate scheduling without tying the ad launch to specific campaign sequencing.
- New York Post attributes the quoted 2024 sentence directly to Hochul and attributes Blakeman’s use of it to his campaign action; timesnownews.com provides polling data but does not attribute the debate exchange or ad action.
- From New York Post: Hochul’s 2024 line, 'Right now we have you know young Black kids growing up in the Bronx who don't even know what the word computer is.'
- From New York Post: Hochul said she 'misspoke' when walking back the 2024 remark.
- No report Updat3 read provides the original setting or full transcript of the 2024 event where Hochul made the quoted remark beyond the single sentence reproduced.
- No source supplies detailed data on Bronx voter demographics or turnout projections tied to the ad buy and office opening.
- There is no reporting here on independent verification of the digital ad’s reach, spending, or media buy details.
How we got here
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 2024 comment that “young Black kids growing up in the Bronx who don’t even know what the word computer is” — a line she later said she “misspoke” — is the immediate backdrop for attention to her candidacy; that remark was first reported in 2024.
The campaign enters this phase under the New York general election calendar established by the New York State Constitution and state election law, with the 2026 general election scheduled for November 3, 2026. Hochul became New York’s incumbent governor after winning the November 2022 election and taking office on January 1, 2023.
Original sources
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