An early campaign ad by Michael Blake, who is challenging Rep. Ritchie Torres for the District 15 Congressional seat, caught the attention of two prominent Bronx Democratic clubs, who accuse Blake of political opportunism and stoking divisiveness.
Blake’s two-minute video includes social media clips of people denouncing Torres’ staunch support of Israel, among them being 19-year-old Guy Christensen, who previously posted a now-removed video in which he appeared to support the May fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, D.C.
Christensen, who has a large social media following under the handle “YourFavoriteGuy, was expelled from college and censored by the social media platform for appearing to encourage the killings. He is now being represented by the ACLU in a lawsuit against The Ohio State University for the expulsion.
Blake’s ad includes a clip of Christensen saying, “Ritchie Torres was just exposed for secretly investing in genocide.”
The video has been removed from Blake’s campaign website, and his campaign did not respond to question as to why it was taken down. But the ad remains on his campaign Instagram and pinned to the top of his X account.
I am running for Congress because the people of The Bronx deserve better than Ritchie Torres. I am ready to fight for you and lower your cost of living while Ritchie fights for a Genocide. I will focus on Affordable Housing and Books as Ritchie will only focus on AIPAC and Bibi.… pic.twitter.com/GYadKnQCeq
— Michael Blake (@MrMikeBlake) November 6, 2025
B. Arthur Richardson and Virginia Krompinger, presidents of their respective clubs, said in a Nov. 12 letter shared with the Bronx Times that they were “deeply disappointed” in the campaign video, given the diverse Jewish, Latino, Black and other communities in the borough.
Richardson and Krompinger did not use the young TikTok personality’s name but said Blake went too far by including him in the campaign video.
“By featuring an influencer who has celebrated senseless violence against the Jewish community and spread hateful rhetoric, the video crossed a line,” they said. “It tried to pit Black and Brown communities against their Jewish neighbors for political gain. That is not leadership, and it is not who we are as Bronx Democrats.”
The letter accused Blake of “pour[ing] fuel on the fire” amid times of political tension.
“The Bronx deserves better leaders who bring people together, tell the truth, and focus on what really matters: housing, affordability, safety, and opportunity,” the club presidents said.
Torres has previously raised his own concerns specific to Christensen and said in a May 27 post on X that one of the influencer’s videos “appears intent on inciting violence” towards him.
‘Horror, disappointment and just sadness’
The Estella B. Diggs and Benjamin Franklin clubs vet candidates and publicize endorsements in each election, and both have endorsed Torres in the past, Krompinger said in an interview with the Bronx Times.
As president of the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club —one of the city’s most influential political groups— Krompinger said her initial reaction to Blake’s video was “horror, disappointment and just sadness.”
She said Blake seemed not to care about alienating the Bronx’s 47,000 Jewish people, about 24,000 of whom live in the Riverdale and Kingsbridge neighborhoods represented by the Franklin Club.
According to Krompinger, Blake’s ad is overly focused on Torres’ support for Israel, “exploiting” a hot-button issue at a level she had not previously heard from him, she said.
While Blake was not available for interview, his campaign sent a statement saying he issued an apology and denounced the Israeli embassy staffers’ killings.
“I apologize for any pain our campaign video caused any member of the Jewish community by including someone who condoned this horrific event,” he said.
Blake said he opposed “all acts of hate and violence” and that overturning Torres in NY-15 remained his priority.
“I am focused on the cost of living and affordability crisis impacting all of the district, where Ritchie Torres’ actions have failed, along with continuing to address antisemitism, anti-Muslim hate, housing and immigration. We deserve better than Ritchie Torres.”
Debating Israel in the Bronx
Blake, a former State Assembly Member and Democratic National Committee vice chair, previously challenged Torres in 2020. He gained more visibility after a stronger-than-expected performance in this year’s Democratic mayoral primary but ultimately received just 0.4% of the vote.
Though Torres has come under frequent controversy for his support of Israel, he ran unopposed in the last NY-15 election, which covers wide sections of the south and central Bronx.
Blake, or any other challenger, will likely struggle to out-fundraise Torres. His campaign has over $14 million cash on hand, with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as a top contributor.
Thus far, four candidates other than Blake have filed paperwork to challenge Torres in 2026: Delourny Nemorin, who is a Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member, running as a Democrat; Jose Vega and John LaTona, who are also running as Democrats and Andre Easton —a high school English teacher who identifies as a socialist— is running as an independent.
In Blake’s campaign video, he blasted Torres’ AIPAC ties.
“Ritchie Torres cares more about Bibi [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] than he does about the Bronx. More about AIPAC than he does about your academics,” he said.
But beyond Israel, Blake’s video still pushes the boundaries of typical campaign ad content.
In one of the video’s social media clips, someone says, “Ritchie Torres sucks” and another says, “What a asshole.” Another clip shows a man saying, “Ritchie Torres is a white motherf—er,” with the profanity bleeped out.
In response to the video controversy, Torres spokesperson Bennny Stanislawski referred the Bronx Times to the same statement sent for a recent story on Nemorin.
“Bronx voters trust Ritchie Torres to be their voice fighting for them in Washington because he is a lifelong resident who has delivered real results for the community. Ritchie has been laser-focused on issues like public housing and affordability while standing up to Donald Trump. That’s why he’s going to win again next year.”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
