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Exclusive: Staten Island, New York – Republican Party Rep. Elise Stefanik, He spotted a local GOP fundraising dinner at this Democrat-controlled New York City mag base and sent out what could be coming.
“Are you ready to fire Kathy Hochul next year?” The six-term lawmaker from the red-grown districts of most upstate New York is cheering loudly at the GOP’s annual Lincoln Day dinner on Staten Island.
Hochul, the Democratic governor of New York’s Blue State, will be running for re-election next year for a four-year term.
And Stefanik, a member of House GOP leadership, is the most well-known Republican, seriously considering becoming Hochul in the 2026 election.
New York Government Hochul faces major challenges from her own lieutenant governor
New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik will discover a Staten Island GOP fundraising dinner in New York City on June 2, 2025. (Fox News – Paulsteinhauser)
Pointing to the battle for next year, Stefanik said in the end. GOP nominations “Accepting Hochul” “You have to be the toughest fighter. He takes on the media, takes on the radical left, takes on the denier, and is a proven winner.”
He sounded like Stefanik, who was considered a Republican early in his tenure in Congress, but became a top ally of the president. Donald Trump And the Magazine champion was talking about himself.
Find out the latest Fox News Report, Analysis and Opinions on Elise Stefanik
In an exclusive national interview with Fox News Digital ahead of her appearance at the Staten Island GOP event, Stephanik said she is “prideful” to be one of Trump’s top supporters at home.
“I stepped up to provide President Trump’s agenda that unleashes American energy. [independence]securing borders and reducing taxes for New Yorkers, especially state and local tax credits,” she touted.
“I’m very close to President Trump. I chaired his campaign in New York. I was the first Republican to support him.”
Stefanik said she and the president “we’re talking about a variety of things. He’s paying close attention to New York, and he knows that. New York We need new leadership, strong Republican leadership. ”
New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, a top ally of President Donald Trump, joined the then-president of New Hampshire on the 2024 campaign trail. (Getty Images)
And Stefanik said if she pulls the trigger and launches the 2026 Republican governor’s campaign in the Imperial State, she would “be honored to gain his support.”
It’s been 23 years since Republicans won a heavy gubernatorial election in New York. We need to return to the 2002 government’s second reelection victory for the former George Pataki government.
But Hochul will likely face a highly competitive reelection.
The issue of votes for the Democratic governor of this blue state facing reelection next year
Hochul was the state’s lieutenant governor in August 2021 when she was sworn in as New York’s first female governor after a three-term Democratic government. Andrew Cuomo He resigned disgraced amid multiple scandals.
She beat the rep of the time. Lee Zeldin He won a four-year term in 2022, surpassing just six points. However, since Pataki won his third term reelection in 2002, Zeldin’s show has been the best by Republican governor candidates.
Kathy Hochul of New York’s Democratic government is seeking re-election next year. (Reuters/David Diedelgado)
Meanwhile, Trump, who lost 23 points to New York in the 2020 presidential election, cut his deficit by 10 points last November.
Hochul’s approval rating in the recent Siena University poll was held slightly in the positive territory, but the survey shows that the majority of New Yorkers still prefer someone else to win the 2026 election for Imperial Governors.
According to a poll conducted May 12-15, 36% of registered voters in New York said they would vote to re-elect Hochur for their second year term, with a majority (55%) saying they wanted others.
Stefanik reiterated her claim that Hochul is “the worst governor in America.”
New York GOP Councillor Elise Stefanik will speak with attendees at the Staten Island GOP fundraising dinner in New York City on June 2, 2025. (Fox News – Paulsteinhauser)
And she said, “We need candidates to speak to and reach out to all politically striped New Yorkers. I did that in the Congress district. When I first ran for Congress, I was a loser. None of my family was political.
If she decides to launch a governor’s campaign, Stefanik may not have a GOP primary herself.
Republican Party Rep. Mike Lawler, His second term, representing the Keiswing Council district, which covers a large strip of New York City’s northern suburbs, is pondering the 2026 GOP run for the governor.
“I think Kathy Hochul is America’s most reckless and incompetent governor,” Lawler said in an April interview with Fox News.
Lawler said he will decide this month whether he will run for governor or for reelection.
However, Trump approved Lawler for reelection last month. This is likely that instead of looking for the governor’s office, lawmakers want to be re-elected as the House GOP fights to protect a thin majority of razors in the room.
Another Trump supporter, Nassau County executive Bruce Blakeman, also pondered the run for the governor.
When asked about the governor’s potential GOP primary, Stefanik said, “I think Republicans will solve that. I know how important it is to unify again.”
“I work very well with all of my colleagues, including those in consideration, and I think I’ll settle that on the Republican side,” she added.
However, the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) argued in a memo that “the Republican nomination in New York will be decided by Donald Trump by one.”
And the DGA claimed that the GOP race is “already very messy and messy.”
Stefanik was interviewed about an hour after news broke that Hochul was facing major challenges from her own lieutenant governor.
New York Lt. Colonel Anthonio Delgado announced his bid on Monday to seek to appoint a boss in next year’s election.
New York Lt. Colonel Antonio Delgado announced Monday that he will launch a major Democratic challenge in 2026 to Gov. Kathy Hochul. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)
In a video announcing his candidacy, Delgado took a jab with his boss and said, “What we need here in New York is bold, decisive, transformative leadership.”
Recent polls show Hochul has a wide-ranging MPs Delgado and Richie Torres, who are pondering key challenges in the Democratic governor nomination race.
The DGA praised Hochur in a statement after Delgado’s announcement.
“Governor Kathy Hochul is a proven leader with a strong record of deliveries for New Yorkers. The Democratic Governors Association is 100% behind Gov. Hochul as he continues to give birth to New York, take over Donald Trump and build surgeries to take to beat the Republic in 2026.
But Stefanik said news of the major challenges supported her debate.
“I called Cathy Hochul the worst governor in America because it’s true. It’s not just Republicans. Across the state, where she understands she’s failed, she conveyed a devastating policy of failure in New York,” Stefanik said.
And Stefanik added, “This is her handpicked lieutenant governor who she has now chosen it, and now she is primary with Kathy Hochul, and that’s because she has failed her job.”
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Asked if the news would push her closer to the governor, Stefanik said, “I watch a lot, so I’m crossing the state. Today I’m on Staten Island. Today I’m in Erie County, Suffolk County, Albany County, New York.”
“We’ll make decisions over the next few months,” she added.
