Donald Trump wrong about rarity of Republicans winning in Nassau County, NY

When President Donald Trump traveled to Suffern, New York, for a rally, he introduced the crowd to Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the expected Republican nominee for governor. Trump praised Blakeman for blazing a new trail for Republican politicians in Nassau County, a populous, largely suburban district on Long Island, when he won the county executive race in 2021.

"Nassau County, it's all Democrat," Trump said at the May 22 rally. Referring to Blakeman, Trump said, "You know, when he ran years ago, he ran in Nassau. They said, you got to be kidding. It doesn't happen. No Republican wins in Nassau. And he ran and won."

It’s possible that’s the reaction Blakeman received. But it’s not the Republicans’ reality — they’ve performed well in Nassau. Seven Republicans have won the county executive position, compared with three Democrats.

Lawrence Levy — who covered Long Island politics for the local newspaper, Newsday, then became executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Long Island’s Hofstra University — dismissed Trump’s assertion as "almost laughable."

It would "certainly puzzle Nassau county Democrats who, aside from the occasional spurt of success in county and town races, have been spanked red far more often than not," Levy told PolitiFact New York.

When we reached out to the White House, a spokesperson directed us to Trump’s comments. We also reached out to Blakeman’s team but did not receive a response.

The political patterns in Nassau County throughout history

The strongest argument for Nassau County’s Democratic bona fides is its record in presidential elections. Trump won the county in 2024, but in doing so, he became the first Republican to accomplish that since George H.W. Bush in 1988.

Downballot is a different story: Democrats and Republicans have both been successful for congressional and federal offices.

Portions of Nassau County have often been represented by Republicans in the House. Republican Peter King held a House seat that included portions of the county for two decades, from 1993 to 2013. Republican George Santos held King’s seat briefly before being expelled for lying extensively about his background.

Republican Andrew Garbarino has held a different district that includes Nassau County since 2021, and Republican Anthony D’Esposito held a different, more Democratic-leaning district from 2023 to 2025.

Who has won the Nassau County executive post?

Blakeman’s county executive post has been held more consistently by Republicans.

Blakeman ousted Laura Curran, a Democrat, in 2021. In the big picture, Curran was an exception: Democrats have occupied the Nassau County executive post for about 20 years out of the past 88. Here’s the list:

• J. Russell Sprague, Republican, 1938-52

• A. Holly Patterson, Republican, 1953-62

• Eugene Nickerson, Democrat, 1962-70

• Ralph G. Caso, Republican, 1970-78

• Francis T. Purcell, Republican, 1978-87

• Thomas Gulotta, Republican, 1987-2001 

• Tom Suozzi, Democrat, 2002-09

• Ed Mangano, Republican, 2010-17

• Laura Curran, Democrat, 2018-21

• Bruce Blakeman, Republican, 2022-present

Blakeman had previously served as presiding officer of the Nassau County Legislature. On the election day in which he won the executive office, Nassau County Republicans also flipped control of the county’s district attorney and comptroller offices, which Newsday characterized as "a complete sweep."

Our ruling

Trump said that when Blakeman ran for Nassau County executive, the general sentiment was that "no Republican wins in Nassau."

On the presidential level, Nassau County voted Democratic between 1992 and 2020. But for other offices, it has been competitive between the parties, and the position of county executive has generally been dominated by Republicans. Of Nassau County’s 10 county executives, seven of them have been Republican.

The statement contains an element of truth but ignores information that would give a different impression, so we rate it Mostly False.