Michael Goodwin: Blakeman outclassed Hochul on debate stage paving the way for him to win on Election Day

He did it.He really did it.

Bruce Blakeman came loaded for bear and hit the target.On the campaign trail, the GOP nominee has often seemed too much of a gentleman to throw a hard punch.I was wrong about that — and more importantly, so was Kathy Hochul.She was unprepared for a serious debate with a serious opponent, and as a result, Blakeman repeatedly had her on defense Tuesday night.Overall, the governor seemed off balance and unsure about how to defend her record.

At times she had no defense, and instead stooped to trying to pin the state’s high energy costs on President Trump.It was one of many moments throughout the fast-paced hour where she acted as if Trump were her opponent.Everything wrong with New York was somehow his fault, and Blakeman is unqualified because he would be a Trump toady.It’s an interesting argument in a deep blue state, but she failed miserably to deliver the goods in a persuasive fashion.

It’s almost as if she believed all she had to do was say Trump 100 times and voters would give her four more years.On two occasions, Blakeman was savvy in drawing a distinction with Trump.He noted that he is pro-choice, unlike Trump, and that he favors a guest-worker program instead of deporting those who have worked hard and committed no crimes.Overall, Blakeman was far better prepared to debate the issues that have made New York No.

1 in losing population to other states.He hit the right buttons, from energy bills—which are 70 percent higher than the national average, to taxes, where New York is tops in sucking the blood of residents and businesses.Hochul’s weak response was to claim that she had cut taxes and energy costs, which cannot be accurate, or New York would have been closer to the middle of all 50 states in both categories.Blakeman also nailed the ways in which sanctuary laws are putting New Yorkers in danger of violent illegal immigrants.Her response: blame ICE.That’s the far-left talking, so once again, Hochul makes common ...