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US President Donald Trump’s ally Elise Stefanik has opted to leave politics and said she will no longer run for New York governor.House Republican Conference chair and fourth-ranking member in the House of Representatives, Stefanik said on Friday she was bowing out of politics to spend more time with family.
She added that she would halt the gubernatorial campaign, that was launched in November, and would not seek re-election to Congress.When her current term representing New York’s upstate 21st congressional district expires in January 2027, she will have served 12 years in office on Capitol Hill.Stefanik’s decision followed a holiday advertising blitz by her Republican rival in the gubernatorial primary, Nassau County executive and fellow Trump ally Bruce Blakeman, who paid to air campaign ads on Fox News in West Palm Beach, Florida, the home of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. President Donald Trump has previously expressed consternation at having to choose between two allies to challenge New York’s incumbent Democratic Governor, Kathy Hochul, next November. “They’re two fantastic people, and I always hate it when two very good friends of mine are running, and I hope there’s not a lot of damage done,” the New York Times quoted him as telling reporters recently.While voicing confidence that she would have “overwhelmingly won” that race, Stefanik said in her announcement, “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.”
Stefanik went on to say that throughout her time in Congress, her “most important title is Mom.” “I believe that being a parent is life’s greatest gift and greatest responsibility,” she wrote. “I have thought deeply about this and I know that as a mother, I will feel profound regret if I don’t further focus on my young son’s safety, growth, and happiness - particularly at his tender age.”Shortly after Stefanik bowed out, President Trump acknowledged her announcement on his Truth Social platform, writing “Elise is a tremendous talent, regardless of what she does. She will have GREAT success, and I am with her all the way!”Stefanik, the youngest woman ever elected to the House in 2014, moved sharply to the right after Trump’s first presidential victory in 2016.
She has led efforts to expose how elite U.S. colleges, including New York’s Columbia University, responded to campus protests over the Gaza war. At the start of Trump’s second term in January 2025 he nominated her as Ambassador to the United Nations, but he withdrew her name amid concerns about Republicans’ narrow House majority.While Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris won New York by a comfortable 12-point margin over Trump in 2024, the state shifted more towards Trump than any other in the nation from 2020 to 2024.
Despite this, Democrats dominated several high-profile elections in November, including in New York City and nearby New Jersey.Stefanik’s district is not seen as competitive in next year’s midterm elections, when Democrats will seek to take control of the House. Incumbent Presidents’ parties typically lose House seats in midterm elections.Hochul, 67, became Governor in 2021 after then-Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned amid sexual harassment allegations and won a full four-year term in 2022.
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