Elise Stefanik Suddenly Ends Campaign For New York Governor

Republican New York Rep. Elise Stefanik abruptly suspended her campaign Friday afternoon to unseat Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Stefanik said she came to a decision to drop out of the race after spending time with her family during the holiday season. The New York Republican also said she would not seek another term in the House during next year’s midterm elections.

Stefanik cited a potentially bruising primary against Nassau Executive Bruce Blakeman as part of her rationale for exiting the race.

“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,” Stefanik said in a post on X.

“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.”

Stefanik also faced a steep climb to defeat Hochul in a midterm election year that could be unfavorable for Republicans. Democrats also outnumber Republicans by a 2 to 1 margin among registered voters in the Empire State, which has not elected a Republican governor in more than two decades.

Hochul led Stefanik by 19 percentage points in a hypothetical general election matchup, according