Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is exploring a bid for governor of New York, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
One of the sources said Stefanik is seriously considering a run after she received encouragement from Republicans in New York, members of the Trump world and GOP donors.
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul is up for re-election next year.
President Donald Trump withdrew Stefanik's nomination to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and asked her to stay in Congress, where she has been given a new leadership arrangement.
Stefanik has $10 million cash on hand across her various political entities and has outrun Trump in her upstate New York district.
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., is also considering running for governor.
New York State Democratic Party spokesperson Addison Dick said in a statement: "New York Republicans can’t field a serious candidate from their pathetic crew of Trump minions. 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.”
Stefanik's nomination to be ambassador to the U.N. was abruptly withdrawn last month after Trump expressed concerns about the slim GOP majority in the House and Republicans' ability to win a special election to fill an impending vacancy in her district.
Stefanik, who became the youngest woman ever elected to the House in 2014, had conducted a weekslong "farewell tour" as she prepared to leave Congress.
She was also given assurances that she would rejoin the House GOP leadership team and the Intelligence Committee, which she gave up after her nomination. But the efforts to bring Stefanik back into the fold in recent weeks have caused tension among Stefanik, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and other House Republicans.
While New York hasn't had a Republican governor in almost 20 years, since George Pataki left office in 2007, Stefanik could pose a formidable challenge to Hochul if she makes it through a GOP primary.
In 2022, Hochul beat the Republican nominee for governor, former Rep. Lee Zeldin, by just over 6 percentage points, about half of forKamala Harris' almost 13 percentage-point margin over Trump there last year.
But a source close to Hochul said she has already amassed a war chest, with $18 million on hand for her campaign. And the source expected Republicans to face extra hurdles on the campaign trail while Trump is in office.
Hochul also faces potential challenges within her own party.
Her lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado, announced this year that he would not seek re-election alongside Hochul, fueling rumors that he will challenge her in a Democratic primary next year.
