Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik said Friday that she is ending her campaign for New York governor and will not run for re-election to her House seat next year.
In a lengthy post to X, Stefanik, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, wrote that she had "not come to this decision lightly for our family."
"As we have seen in past elections, while we would have overwhelmingly won this primary, it is not an effective use of our time or your generous resources to spend the first half of next year in an unnecessary and protracted Republican primary, especially in a challenging state like New York. And while many know me as Congresswoman, my most important title is Mom," Stefanik said.
Stefanik's surprise decision comes just days after she drew her first major challenger in the Republican primary in Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County county executive who is also a Trump ally. The party's eventual nominee will face an uphill climb in the solidly blue state, though Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul's approval rating has been under water.
After Trump pulled Stefanik's nomination to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in March, she had teased a run for governor for months before officially launching her campaign in November.
Stefanik's decision to leave Congress at the end of her term will also open up her upstate New York district, a largely rural area that stretches from the Albany area to the Canadian border. Trump carried the 21st District by more than 20 points in 2024, but some Republicans feared it could have been in play in a special election if Stefanik was confirmed for the UN ambassadorship.
Trump had appeared to try to clear the GOP field for Stefanik in the governor's race earlier in the year. He endorsed Blakeman and Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who had been considering a gubernatorial run, for re-election to their current posts.
Lawler ultimately decided to seek another term in his battleground House district, while Blakeman entered the gubernatorial contest anyway.
At an event at the White House last week where Stefanik was present, Trump praised both Stefanik and Blakeman.
“She’s running for a little position called governor of New York, and she’s got a hell of a shot at it,” Trump said about Stefanik. “That’s all I can see. I see polls that look very good, and we we could use you in New York. She’s got a little competition with a very good Republican, but she’s a great Republican, so we’ll see what happens, but at least it’s respected by everybody. We appreciate it.”
Stefanik referenced the primary in her statement on X saying, "we would have overwhelmingly won this primary, it is not an effective use of our time or your generous resources to spend the first half of next year in an unnecessary and protracted Republican primary, especially in a challenging state like New York."
Trump praised Stefanik in a post on Truth Social after her announcement, calling her "a tremendous talent, regardless of what she does."
"She will have GREAT success, and I am with her all the way!" Trump wrote.
New York Republican Party Chair Ed Cox quickly endorsed Blakeman following Stefanik's announcement, adding in a statement, "I urge our State Committee and party leaders to join me."
Meanwhile, the Hochul campaign gloated.
“Elise Stefanik has finally acknowledged reality: If you run against Governor Kathy Hochul, you are going to lose," campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki said.
Stefanik has been increasingly frustrated and openly critical about Republican congressional leadership in recent weeks, specifically Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. Her announcement also marks yet another high-profile departure of a Republican woman from Congress, after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., last month said she would resign in January.
The decision caps off a roller-coaster year for Stefanik. Trump’s withdrawal of her nomination was a significant blow to Stefanik, a rising star in the party. Her nomination had been reported favorably out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in January, but never received a confirmation vote in the full chamber.
After Trump pulled her nomination, she returned to Congress, but without her leadership title as she’d already been replaced as the House GOP conference chair. The No. 4 leadership spot had made her the highest-ranking GOP woman on Capitol Hill.
