Bruce Blakeman, the Republican candidate for New York governor, appears onstage with President Donald Trump during an Oct. 9 midterm rally at The Oncenter in Syracuse. (Photo by Tyler Murphy)

SYRACUSE — President Donald Trump brought his midterm campaign to the Oncenter in Syracuse on Friday, Oct. 9, with a request for upstate supporters: vote as if his name was on the ballot.

Trump said, "When I'm not on the ballot, 48 percent of you don't vote. Please pretend I'm on the freaking ballot, will you?"

Less than four weeks before the Nov. 3 election, President Trump made a rare trip to upstate New York.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the Republican nominee for governor, spoke and said New York has become too expensive, too heavily taxed and too soft on crime.

Blakeman's running mate, Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood, attended, Border Czar Tom Homan and several other candidates and officials were in the audience.

"Kathy Hochul and the radical Dumocrats have turned New York into a national embarrassment of high costs, high crime, massive corruption and communist politicians chasing jobs and businesses and wealth," Trump said.

"This is not the state that I remember 10 years ago when I went to Washington, D.C., to be your president."

He spoke about the high energy costs in New York, saying the state sits on large fuel reserves, while Pennsylvania gets rich. The Southern Tier has natural gas in the Marcellus Shale, which New York has kept off-limits to hydraulic fracturing since 2015 over water quality concerns.

"You are sitting on some of the greatest oil reserves anywhere in the world, and you're not allowed to touch it,” he said.

Trump said if Bruce Blakeman gets elected the state could cut costs to electric bills by 50 to 90 percent.

"If Republicans win the House of Representatives and the Senate, I am going to give all adult citizens in the United States of America $5,000 each," Trump said.

Trump offered no tax on tips, overtime or Social Security, which he wants made permanent, and seeks local tax deduction for New Yorkers.

He credited his tariffs with a rise in domestic factory operations. He cited Micron's planned chip complex in Clay.

"Micron is investing over $100 billion in creating 50,000 jobs in Central New York. This will soon be the home to the largest semiconductor manufacturing facility ever built in the Western Hemisphere,” said Trump.

On the border, Trump credited Tom Homan. "In the past 17 months, zero illegal aliens have been admitted into the United States through our southern border," he said.

He called New York’s status as a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants, "a state to protect criminals."

He also drew attention to bail reform laws and efforts in New York City to give non-citizens, even ones in the country illegally, the right to vote in local elections.

"If you want to stop illegal alien criminals from being released into your communities, you must elect Bruce Blakeman and a Republican Congress," he said.

"And we will ban sanctuary cities and sanctuary states at long last,” promised Trump.

"If Bruce Blakeman, as your governor, calls me to help straighten out in New York City or pretty dangerous parts of this state that I know and love so much, I'll be there within 24 hours, Bruce," Trump said.

He also pledged to end cashless bail and to push the death penalty for "large-scale drug dealers, human traffickers and anyone who kills a police officer."

He called for voter identification and proof-of-citizenship requirements, for health care money to go to individuals rather than insurance companies.

He called for bans on biological men participating in women's sports and on unreversible gender-related medical practices being performed on children.

“The Ten Commandments say, honor thy father and mother. It doesn’t say honor thy gestating and non-gestating parent,” said Blakeman.

Blakeman said, "I may come from Long Island, but I've been coming up here for over 40 years. Upstaters have something that Kathy Hochul doesn't have. It's called common sense and good judgment."

"We are the highest taxed state in America," Blakeman said.

He wants to remove working families from having to pay state income tax. "Joint filers, if you're making $100,000, no state income tax. Single filers, your first $50,000, no state income tax, he said.

He said cashless bail and Raise the Age laws were "all designed to let criminals get out and suffer no consequences for committing crimes in our communities."

"Did you ever think you would see the day when you walked into a pharmacy and if you want a bottle of shampoo, you've got to ring a buzzer and a store clerk has to come out and unlock a glass door just so you can buy a bottle of shampoo because there's no consequences for anybody that commits a crime in this state,” he asked.

Early voting runs Oct. 24 through Nov. 1. Oct. 24 is also the last day for county boards of elections to receive voter registrations and the deadline to apply for a mail ballot; mail ballots must be postmarked by Election Day, Nov. 3. Polls are open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Election Day; voters can confirm their polling place with their county board of elections.

Trump left the crowd with the same instruction he opened with. The country is in a golden age, he said, "but you have to get out to keep it and vote Republican."