Rep. Elise Stefanik drops out of New York’s governor race, no reelection bid for House

Rep. Elise Stefanik has suspended her campaign for New York governor and said she will not be seeking reelection for her House seat, either.

Ms. Stefanik, 41, had been a rising star in the Republican Party. She had been a member of House GOP leadership and nearly became President Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations. In November, she entered the race to challenge Democratic incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul.

But she suddenly decided to exit politics, she said, because of the prospect of a bruising primary for the gubernatorial nomination and family considerations.

“I am truly humbled and grateful for the historic and overwhelming support from Republicans, Conservatives, Independents, and Democrats all across the state for our campaign to Save New York,” Ms. Stefanik, New York Republican, wrote in a statement Friday.

She said she “did not come to this decision lightly for our family.”

“However, 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,” she said.

Ms. Stefanik had failed to clear the GOP primary field to give her a clear shot at Ms. Hochul, who has a decided advantage in Democrat-leaning New York, which hasn’t had a Republican governor in two decades.

Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman jumped into the governor’s race this month, promising a combative and expensive primary that threatened to leave the Republican nominee weakened for the contest against Ms. Hochul.

Both Ms. Stefanik and Mr. Blakeman were in Mr. Trump’s good graces.

The president jumped to endorse Mr. Blakeman a day after Ms. Stefanik suspended her bid.

“Bruce is MAGA all the way, and has been with me from the very beginning. As Nassau County Executive, he is working tirelessly with the Brave Heroes of ICE, Border Patrol, and Law Enforcement to Keep Our Border SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Safeguard our Community, and Ensure LAW AND ORDER,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social Saturday.

“As your next Governor, Bruce will continue to fight hard to Grow the Economy, Cut Taxes, and Regulations, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A, Champion American Energy DOMINANCE, Strengthen our Military/Veterans, Advance Election Integrity, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment!” he wrote.

Mr. Blakeman wrote that he was “grateful and blessed” to have the president’s endorsement.

State GOP Chair Ed Cox also quickly endorsed Mr. Blakeman after Ms. Stefanik dropped out.

Immediately after Ms. Stefanik’s announcement, Mr. Trump offered her his support in whatever she does next.

“Elise Stefanik, a fantastic person and Congresswoman from New York State, has just announced she won’t be running for Governor. Elise is a tremendous talent, regardless of what she does. She will have GREAT success, and I am with her all the way,” he wrote on Truth Social.

A source familiar with the Stefanik campaign characterized Mr. Blakeman’s gubernatorial run as selfish, saying that he got into the GOP primary “even though he knew there was no path [to win], for the sole purpose of raising his profile and undermining her general election campaign against Kathy Hochul.” 

State Conservative Party Chair Gerard Kassar said he was “disappointed that Congresswoman Elise Stefanik won’t be running for governor this year, but we respect her decision and wish her the best in all her future endeavors.”

“Elise is an asset to our state and nation. I have no doubt we’ll see her shine in future roles,” he said in a statement.

The president nominated Ms. Stefanik to become U.S. ambassador to the U.N. in November 2024, but he rescinded the nomination in March because her departure would reduce the already the GOP’s already slim House majority. By then, Ms. Stefanik had lost her position as chair of the House Republican Conference.

• Jeff Mordock and Kerry Picket contributed to this story.