Trump loyalist Stefanik to challenge Hochul for New York governor

By Raga Justin (BGOV) and Nacha Cattan

 

Elise Stefanik plans to announce her bid for governor of New York on Friday, according to people with knowledge of the decision, pitting her against incumbent Kathy Hochul in a state that hasn’t elected a Republican candidate to the position since 2002.   

 

Stefanik, the 41-year-old representative for an upstate New York district, has become one of President Donald Trump’s most prominent allies in Congress. 

 

A one-time moderate, the Harvard University graduate rose to national prominence for grilling the presidents of Ivy League universities about campus unrest and antisemitism, which was seen as a key factor for last year’s resignation of Claudine Gay as Harvard president.

 

The Albany, New York native has been considering running for governor for months, but is formally announcing just days after Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City, one of the people said, who asked not to be named because the information isn’t public. Politico first reported Stefanik’s planned announcement.

 

Stefanik has criticised Hochul for a perceived laxity over public safety issues, such as violent incidents on the city’s subway system, and accused the governor of hampering federal immigration enforcement. She’s also criticized Hochul’s endorsement of Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist. 

 

Hochul defeated Republican Lee Zeldin by six percentage points in 2022, in the closest gubernatorial race in two decades. Since then, she’s struggled with middling approval ratings. Before turning to a general election, Hochul will need to beat a Democratic primary challenge from Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, whom she appointed to the office three years ago.

 

The contest is expected to serve as a test over whether Trump-aligned Republicans can broaden their appeal in a widely blue state. Democrats make up close to 48% of registered voters, compared with 22% for Republicans, though independents now account for roughly a quarter of the electorate, according to state enrollment data.

 

“Ultimately, party ID right now is a very, very powerful force,” said Jacob Neiheisel, a political science professor at the University of Buffalo. “You’re looking at those two names on a ballot: one is Kathy Hochul, who you don’t necessarily love, but the other one’s Republican.”

 

Hochul, who became governor in 2021 following the resignation of Andrew Cuomo, is seeking to pin the blame for rising prices on Stefanik and her Republican colleagues in Congress. Her campaign has dismissed Stefanik as too Trump-friendly to appeal to New Yorkers.

 

Stefanik was briefly considered last year for US ambassador to the United Nations before Trump withdrew the idea amid concerns over the GOP’s narrow House majority. She first won election to Congress in 2014 at age 30, becoming the youngest woman ever elected to the chamber at the time.

 

In recent months, she has intensified criticism of Hochul in television interviews and on social media, repeatedly calling Hochul “the worst governor in America.”