Wiseguys in Yonkers: Fossella & Pinion Stir Up NY Governor’s Race
Borough President’s Yonkers summit throws a grenade into the GOP field.
NOTE: This piece first appeared on NYNewsPress.com.
By Rick LaRivière
Yonkers ‘Wise Guys’ Summit Sets Rumors Flying
Staten Island’s own Vito Fossella and 2022 Senate contender Joe Pinion turned heads this week by rendezvousing upstate at Yonkers’ Heritage Bar. They weren’t there for the wings. They sat down with Republican strategist T.J. McCormack to tape an episode of John Tabacco’s Wise Guys, and the gathering felt more like a campaign war-room than a TV talk show.
Political insiders immediately buzzed that these two GOP dark horses were mapping out something big for 2026. Both men are rumored to be eyeing a run for governor – though so far they’ve stayed coy, with allies saying they’re “keeping their powder dry” until the moment is right.
The very fact that Fossella and Pinion trekked to Yonkers for a joint appearance has operatives gossiping about a nascent alliance. They chewed over “what needs to be done to fix” New York during the taping, a topic that sounds an awful lot like a campaign platform in the making.
Notably, one of the panelists was McCormack – a media-savvy Trump favorite recently praised by the President – a not-so-subtle signal that the boss in Mar-a-Lago might be paying close attention to this meeting of the minds.
Wiseguys in Yonkers: No Coronation as Stefanik’s Crown Slips
This Yonkers powwow comes as the New York GOP’s “no-primary” plan is collapsing. Party Chairman Ed Cox had hoped to anoint North Country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik as the 2026 nominee without a fight – a coronation worthy of Democratic bosses in days of old.
Over the summer, Cox and Trump quietly cleared the field for Stefanik: Trump personally benched Rep. Mike Lawler by telling him to stay out of the governor’s race and remain in Congress.
Cox then gushed that Stefanik had the “brains, guts, and experience” to finally topple Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, insisting Republicans would unite early behind her and “coordinate” on a single candidate to avoid any primary fight.
But not so fast.
No sooner had Stefanik kicked off her campaign in early November than Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman blew up the script. Fresh off a landslide re-election in deep-blue Nassau, Blakeman openly floated his own run and blasted the coronation as undemocratic.
“No one should be crowned the nominee without earning it,” Blakeman scolded party bosses, likening Cox’s scheme to a Kamala Harris-style heir apparent scenario.
He touted his crossover appeal – winning 60% of independents and even thousands of Democrats in a county with 110,000 more Dems than Republicans – implicitly suggesting Stefanik lacks that broad reach downstate. Even within GOP circles, doubts have surfaced about Stefanik’s ability to win beyond her pro-Trump upstate base.
“NYS Republican voters demand a choice,” says Wise Guys host John Tabacco, reflecting a growing insistence that the rank-and-file – not party elites – will decide this nomination.
Stefanik has also handed her rivals some ammunition. She drew fierce criticism for branding New York City’s incoming left-wing mayor, Zohran Mamdani, a “jihadist” and “communist.”
President Trump himself brushed off that label, pointedly calling Mamdani a “very rational person” after meeting him – a public rebuke that left Stefanik momentarily isolated.
And Blakeman hasn’t been shy about needling Stefanik’s appeal, arguing that the GOP must nominate “a candidate that has broad-based appeal with independents and common-sense Democrats” – and hinting he fits that bill.
The upshot: what Cox envisioned as a smooth ascension for Stefanik has turned into a scrappy intra-party revolt. The GOP gubernatorial race will not be a coronation after all, but could become an all-out brawl for the nod.
Wiseguys in Yonkers: Fossella & Pinion – The Dark Horses with Crossover Clout
As Stefanik’s inevitability fades, eyes are turning to Vito Fossella and Joe Pinion as potential game-changers. Fossella, Staten Island’s borough boss, is a proven vote magnet behind enemy lines. Just two weeks ago, he was re-elected with a staggering 68.4% of the vote in NYC’s bluest borough, a testament to his pull among Democrats and independents.
In a borough where Republicans are outnumbered in voter registration, Fossella has never lost an election, from City Council through six terms in Congress. He’s battle-tested, with a law-and-order populist bent, and routinely wins over working-class Democrats – exactly the recipe a Republican needs to have any shot statewide.
“Vito is the viable dark horse – a proven winner in the bunch,” one veteran GOP strategist said, pointing to Fossella’s unique ability to slice into the Democratic vote in New York City – a feat no Republican governor can win without.
Fossella hasn’t declared any intention to run for governor, but party insiders say he’s watching the chaos with keen interest.
Then there’s Joe Pinion, the 40-year-old political commentator who stunned observers in 2022 by winning roughly 43% of the vote against powerhouse Sen. Chuck Schumer. That race was the closest Schumer has faced in decades.
Pinion pulled it off with little name recognition and barely $1 million in funding – a shoestring campaign that outperformed all expectations.
In doing so, Pinion proved that a dynamic Republican outsider can energize new voters across New York, even against long odds. He appealed to minority communities and frustrated moderates, showing a pathway to broaden the GOP tent.
Both Fossella and Pinion have the kind of crossover clout that could scramble the calculus of a statewide race. They haven’t jumped in (yet), preferring to keep their public comments vague.
But their joint appearance on Tabacco’s show was a flashing signal: if Stefanik’s “inevitable” path continues to crumble, these two could be poised to step up. Each would bring something rare to a New York GOP ticket – a proven ability to pull unexpected votes from beyond the party base.
That prospect has grassroots Republicans buzzing, and Team Hochul no doubt taking notice.
Trump’s Watchful Eye and the Newsmax Factor
The wildcard hovering over this GOP drama is Donald J. Trump himself. The President has already shown he’s not above kingmaking in his native state’s politics – it was Trump’s direct order that sidelined Mike Lawler and effectively cleared the way for Stefanik in the first place.
Yet now, with dissent in the ranks, Trump appears content to let the contenders slug it out. Tellingly, Bruce Blakeman confided that when Trump called to congratulate him on his Nassau victory, “He didn’t discourage me” from exploring a run – a far cry from the cold water Trump poured on Lawler.
Trump is keeping an open mind as new challengers emerge. And if you want evidence that Trump’s antennae are tuned to this Yonkers summit, look no further than his social media.
On July 4th, Trump took to Truth Social to single out T.J. McCormack – the very strategist at that Yonkers table – for praise.
“Republican Strategist T.J. McCormack was fantastic this morning on Newsmax. He really knows his stuff!” Trump gushed.
In Trump-world, that’s a gold star – and a clear sign he’s watching the Wise Guys crew closely. John Tabacco’s show itself carries weight in MAGA circles. Trump has hailed Newsmax as a preferred outlet, and Tabacco, a feisty Staten Islander, gives voice to the grassroots frustrations and bravado that resonate with Trump’s base.
“That T.J. McCormack was at the table means President Trump is watching,” one insider quipped – and likely nodding in approval at the pushback against party orthodoxy.
In short, the 2026 New York governor’s race just got a lot more interesting. What began as a presumptive coronation for an upstate congresswoman is fast becoming a wide-open contest with an unpredictable cast of characters.
As one GOP operative put it, New York Republicans are finally seeing “an actual contest for the soul of their party.”
Trump and his inner circle will be watching every twist of this fight. The party base, invigorated by the prospect of real choice, will have its say.
Buckle up: the wise guys aren’t just on TV – they’re reshaping the GOP’s future in the Empire State, and no one is wearing the crown just yet.
