New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, a close ally of President Donald Trump, says that she is “in the strongest position to defeat” New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul in the Empire State’s gubernatorial election next year.
“Unlike Kathy Hochul, who was defeated after one term in Congress, we have a record of winning — not just Republicans but winning independents and a fair percentage of Democrats,” she said in an exclusive interview with The New York Post.
There has not been a Republican leader of the state since former Gov. George Pataki left the governor’s mansion 18 years ago.
“I’m honored to have the most robust, most significant donor base of any Republican ever in the state of New York, and it is time that we work together as a team to save this state from the catastrophic policies,” the Republican representative said to The Post.
“If you look at the top 10 worst statistics for New York State — I have seen this decay over the course of my life,” she said.
Stefanik, whom Trump initially tapped to be his UN ambassador but withdrew her name rather than deprive a narrow GOP House majority of another member, has $10 million in federal funds in her coffers that could be transferred to a campaign for governor.
A Republican strategist told The Post that “many” people around Trump and New York political donors have been encouraging Stefanik to vie for governor.
Hochul is only ahead of Stefanik by six percentage points, 46 – 40, in a poll conducted by Republican pollster Landon Wall that was shared on Monday.
The poll also showed that 44 percent of New York Republicans support Stefanik as the party’s candidate, versus 7 percent who support Rep. Mike Lawler or Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.
“Lawler and Stefanik joined a Thursday night event with the Saratoga GOP — one of several counties where Stefanik ran in front of Trump during the 2024 election — and state Assemblyman Chris Tague, who was present, told The Post she looked more than ready to jump into the race,” The Post said in its report.
“I don’t remember any Republican gubernatorial candidates since [former Gov.] George Pataki polling before they even announced that they were running having the margin that she has,” the assemblyman said.
He said that she has “proven to be a fighter throughout her career.”
In describing what her platform would look like compared to the current governor, she spoke of the fact that Hochul has not fully banned masks worn by anti-Israel demonstrators who have harassed Jewish New Yorkers.
“This is an area where Hochul has absolutely failed. Albany and New York Democrats have failed to protect Jewish citizens, not just Jewish students, but Jewish families across this state,” the representative said as she pointed to testimony before the House of Representatives from former Harvard University President Claudine Gay who resigned after saying that protesters calling for the genocide of Jews were allowed on campus depending on the “context.”
“Kathy Hochul and Democrats, they have refused to condemn, they have refused to institute policies and actually ensure that we have rule of law and protection for Jewish individuals, and they’ve refused to condemn antisemitism,” the representative said.
She said that she would also end the policy of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which was continued by Gov. Hochul, that allows illegal aliens to get driver’s licenses in the state.
“If you look at the corruption crisis under Democrats over many, many years — whether it’s multiple governors in a row, not being able to complete their term because of major corruption issues, mismanagement issues — this is systemic to New York Democrats in Albany who have failed, and the people in New York deserve better,” she said.