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- Elise Stefanik, a Republican congresswoman, considers running for New York governor.
- She could face Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul if she secures the nomination.
- Stefanik criticizes Hochul, while Democrats oppose Trump's influence in New York politics.
WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik is considering running for governor of New York next year, according to a person familiar with her plans.
If the six-term congresswoman secured the Republican nomination, she'd be taking on Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Stefanik was President Donald Trump's pick for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations before the White House withdrew her nomination due to the slim Republican House majority.
"Hochul is the Worst Governor in America and it's not even close," Stefanik posted online.
"New Yorkers want nothing to do with the clown show of Trump loyalists who are only focused on enabling Trump's agenda that is raising costs, gutting health care, and attacking New Yorkers' freedoms," New York Democratic Party spokesperson Addison Dick said in response.
New York has not had a Republican governor since George Pataki's two terms from 1995 until 2007.
Trump lost the state in the 2024 presidential election by almost 13 points to former Vice President Kamala Harris; however, Stefanik could rally the conservative areas of Long Island and upstate New York.
Stefanik was the youngest woman ever elected to Congress in 2014 and has recently led oversight calls for how elite U.S. colleges, including New York's Columbia University, responded to campus protests over the Gaza war. Her upstate New York district is not seen as competitive in next year's midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress.
