Trump-Aligned Lawmaker Elise Stefanik Announces Run for NY Governor

(Rod Lamkey, Jr./AP photo)

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), a close ally of President Donald Trump, has announced a 2026 gubernatorial bid in her home state of New York.

The Republican lawmaker announced her plans to challenge sitting Gov. Kathy Hochul in a social media post early Friday morning.

“Kathy Hochul is the Worst Governor in America,” Stefanik said in the post. “Under her failed leadership, New York is the most unaffordable state in the nation with the highest taxes, highest energy, utilities, rent, and grocery bills. When New Yorkers were looking for leadership from our Governor, she bent the knee to the raging Defund the Police, Tax Hiking Communist causing catastrophe for New York families.”

Hochul is also facing a primary challenge from her own lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado.

Last month, a shocking poll found Stefanik leads Hochul by one point (43%-42%) among registered voters. The same poll found that Stefanik would best Delgado by six points (43%-37%).

When asked for comment by the AP, a spokesperson for Hochul’s campaign pointed to a statement from the Democratic Governors Association, which said: “Elise Stefanik has spent her career selling out New Yorkers to Donald Trump — and that is exactly why she is going to lose to Kathy Hochul next November.”

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