Stefanik 'strongly considering' NY governor run
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) said in a Fox News interview Sunday that she's "strongly considering" a run for New York governor in 2026, after her nomination to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations fell through earlier this year.
"Absolutely, I am strongly considering, because look at the crises that Kathy Hochul and single-party Democrat rule have delivered to New Yorkers," Stefanik told "Sunday Morning Futures" host Maria Bartiromo, referring to the current Democratic governor. "I'm taking a hard look at it, and the outpouring of support has been tremendous."
President Trump had picked close ally Stefanik, 40, to serve as the nation's top liaison to the U.N. shortly after his return to the White House in January, but the razor-thin GOP majority in the House prompted him to withdraw the nomination in March.
"With a very tight Majority, I don’t want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise’s seat. The people love Elise and, with her, we have nothing to worry about come Election Day," he wrote on his Truth Social website at the time, referring to Stefanik as one of his "biggest Allies."
Speculation began to pick up last month that Stefanik, who reentered the House GOP leadership ranks as chair of House Republican Leadership after previously stepping down from the conference's No. 4 slot in anticipation of her new post, would pivot to a statewide campaign.
She would not be able to seek reelection to her swing district seat in 2026 if she becomes the GOP gubernatorial nominee.
Hochul, who became governor in 2021 after the resignation of then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), defeated GOP nominee Lee Zeldin in 2022 to keep the office at least through 2026. Zeldin, who was a member of Congress at the time, is now the head of the Environmental Protection Agency under Trump.
But Hochul won the election by about 6 percentage points — the state's closest gubernatorial race in decades. A poll released in March found she is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination again in 2026, though her favorability ranked just below 50 percent overall.
"Kathy Hochul is the worst governor in America," Stefanik told Bartiromo on Sunday. "I dubbed that of Andrew Cuomo, not thinking anybody could make it worse; Kathy Hochul makes the impossible possible. She is the worst governor, and it's showing in her poor, abysmal approval ratings."
"New Yorkers, not just Republicans, but independents and Democrats as well, are yearning for a new generation of leadership to bring common sense back to our state," she added.
Stefanik cited crime, energy, taxes and affordability among her top concerns for the state.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) is also thought to be mulling a gubernatorial bid. A town hall meeting that Lawler held in his suburban swing district Sunday went awry as attendees jeered and shouted questions about Trump's policies.
Hochul, meanwhile, has largely waved off her potential Republican electoral foes.
"No matter who the GOP nominee is next year I’ll be running against, it’s going to be an extreme MAGA Republican, and I look forward to that fight," she said during a news conference last month.
She reiterated that view in an interview with CNN on Monday.
"Donald Trump has made sure that the Republican Party brand is so tainted in New York that no matter who runs against me, they will have the baggage of explaining why that people's prices went up, why they lost health care, why they lost Medicaid, why they lost education, all to fund tax breaks for the wealthiest," she said. "I look forward to that fight no matter who it is. It's not settled yet, but I say bring it on."