Republican US Rep. Elise Stefanik to run against New York Guv Kathy Hochul

Republican US Rep Elise Stefanik is running for governor of New York, her campaign announced Friday.

In a video shared on social media, Stefanik called Democratic Gov Kathy Hochul the worst governor in America and called New York the most unaffordable state in the nation.

Stefanik, who represents a solid red congressional district in upstate New York, has for months teased a run for governor, levelling heavy criticism at Hochul and more recently toward Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City.

I am running for governor to bring a new generation of leadership to Albany to make New York affordable and safe for families all across our great state," Stefanik said in a statement issued Friday.

Last year, President Donald Trump picked Stefanik, a staunch ally, to be the administration's ambassador to the United Nations, but months later rescinded the nomination over concerns about Republicans' tight margins in the House.

Though any Republican faces long odds of winning the governor's mansion in New York, Stefanik's campaign will bring solid name recognition, fundraising prowess and deep ties to the Trump White House. Her campaign announced Friday that she has received the backing of nearly three-quarters of the state's county Republican chairs.

The Republican primary field remains unclear ahead of the 2026 race. US Rep Mike Lawler had been contemplating a run and was considered a potentially strong candidate, but said earlier this year that he would instead seek reelection in his battleground House district in the New York Hudson Valley.

Hochul is facing a contested primary, with her own lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado, running against her.

Stefanik, a Harvard graduate, was 30 when she was first elected to the House in 2014. She entered Congress as a moderate Republican but soon attached herself to Trump, reshaping her persona into more of a brash, outspoken MAGA disciple.

Her national profile got a big boost after she aggressively questioned a group of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses, leading to two of their resignations and winning praise from the Republican president.

Democrats have a major voter registration edge in New York. The last Republican governor in the state was former Gov George Pataki, who left office about two decades ago. Still, Republican Lee Zeldin, a former Long Island congressman and current head of the Environmental Protection Agency, made a serious run for the office in 2022, coming within striking distance of upsetting Hochul.