At 41, she is the youngest woman elected to the House of Representatives and has gone from moderate to MAGA mobster to defend Trump and his policies.
Rep. Elise Stefanik booed at Plattsburgh event honoring John Zurlo
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik was booed at a ceremony in Plattsburgh honoring John H. Zurlo.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, once a rising star in the Republican Party with close ties to President Donald Trump, is pulling out of next year’s New York gubernatorial race and packing her bags to leave Washington.
“While I spend precious time with my family this Christmas season, I am suspending my gubernatorial campaign and will not seek re-election to Congress,” she said in a post on X on Friday, Dec. 19. “I did not make this decision lightly for the sake of my family,” he said.
It’s been a turbulent year for the 41-year-old lawmaker, who was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives a decade ago as the youngest woman in history, and has since transitioned from a New York moderate to one of Trump’s most ardent defenders aligned with the Make America Great Again movement.
Asked for comment, the White House pointed to President Trump’s comments on social media.
“Wonderful person and New York State Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has announced that she will not be running for governor,” Trump wrote. “Elise is incredibly talented in everything she does. She will be a huge success and I will always be with her!”
The announcement is a surprising development, given that Stefanik was considered a front-runner against Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul in next year’s Republican primary. It’s been nearly two weeks since Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman announced his candidacy, raising the possibility of an expensive and ugly primary.
“He’s a friend, she’s a friend. They’re both great people,” Trump told reporters at the White House earlier this month. “In a way, I hate seeing them at odds with each other. I hope they don’t damage each other too much.”
Political forecasters believe the New York gubernatorial race is likely to favor Democrats. In a December survey conducted by Siena College, Mr. Hochul led Mr. Stefanik by 19 percentage points and Mr. Blakeman by 25 percentage points.
Kevin Donohoe, a spokesman for the Democratic Governors Association, said in a statement to USA TODAY that Stefanik’s withdrawal from the race comes months after another moderate in the New York State Assembly, Rep. Mike Lawler, decided not to run.
He said, “The fact that the two main candidates who were planning to run for Governor Hochul announced their resignation shows us how formidable a person (Governor Hochul) is.”
Stefanik could signal a mass exodus of Republicans heading into 2026
Stefanik also joins a growing list of Republican incumbents leaving the House, a move seen as a bad sign for Republicans hoping to maintain their majority heading into the 2026 midterm elections.
Chief among them is Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who announced last month that she would resign from Congress in January following her recent public disagreement with President Trump. Others include Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska, a prominent centrist who has often fallen out with the president, and Representative Troy Neals of Texas, a Trump ally.
Stefanik has indicated he intends to serve out the remainder of his term.
Stefanik, who has a 4-year-old son, said in a social media post: “Many people know me as a congressman, but my most important title is mother.”
“I believe that being a parent is life’s greatest gift and greatest responsibility. I have thought deeply about this and I know that as a mother I would regret it if I did not put more emphasis on my young son’s safety, growth, and well-being, especially while he was still young.”
Stefanik’s meteoric rise began with her aggressive defense of Trump during his first impeachment in 2019. Her colleagues promoted her to become the No. 3 House Republican leader in 2021 after Republicans removed former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming because of Cheney’s sharp criticism of President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021, invasion of the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.
“We’re going to continue to attack and win the issue,” Stefanik said at the time. “We will have a majority in 2022.”
Because of her alliance with President Trump, she was on the short list of potential 2024 vice presidential candidates. Although she did not serve in the role, President Trump selected her to be ambassador to the United Nations in March, but later withdrew her nomination, citing the razor-thin Republican majority in the House.
Contributor: Thomas C. Zambito
