A fired up Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) on Friday blasted Gov. Kathy Hochul for bending the knee to New York City’s socialist Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani — as she officially launched herself into the 2026 gubernatorial race.
Stefanik ripped into the Democratic governor for backing Mamdani ahead of his election victory this week, arguing the move only added to her long list of failures for New Yorkers.
“When New Yorkers were looking for strong leadership from a governor not to bend the knee to Zohran Mandami, Kathy Hochul bent the knee,” Stefanik told Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.”
“Why did she do that? Because she is hemorrhaging support, even in her own party,” she continued.
“This is a toxic governor who has a record of delivering the highest taxes in the nation, of hurting hard working New Yorkers, of turning her back on law enforcement officers and small businesses. New York is in catastrophe because of Kathy Hochul’s leadership.”
Stefanik officially kicked off her gubernatorial campaign earlier Friday, declaring that the Empire State had “fallen” under her Democratic rival’s reign.
She hammered home her own decade-long record as an upstate congresswoman, insisting she had the support to turn New York red for the first time in 20 years.
“I have a record of flipping a district that was previously held by a Democrat,” she said.
“I’ve won every primary and general election, and we’ve over performed — winning not just Republicans but independents and a fair share of Democrats as well — because my record has been delivering results for families, for small businesses, for our veterans, for our farmers.”
New York GOP Chair Ed Cox was quick to hail Stefanik’s gubernatorial campaign, describing her as a “unifier and party builder with the brains, the guts and the resources” to win.
“She has fought for our principles every day of her career and never backs down. She is the warrior we need to lead the fight against Democrats’ corrupt Albany machine,” he said in a statement.
“Thanks to Kathy Hochul and Democrats, New York leads the nation in outmigration as the most taxed, least free, least affordable state in America. There will not be a Republican primary and a year from now, Elise will lead our team to victory over Kathy Hochul, end one-party Democrat rule, and make New York affordable again.”
Hochul’s campaign, meanwhile, responded to news of Stefanik’s campaign by ripping her as a “sellout.”
“Sellout Stefanik is Donald Trump’s number one cheerleader in Congress and his right-hand woman in his war on New York: gutting health care, jacking up costs with expensive tariffs, and cutting funding for our police, schools, and hospitals,” her campaign communications director Sarafina Chitika said in a statement.
“Apparently, screwing over New Yorkers in Congress wasn’t enough — now she’s trying to bring Trump’s chaos and skyrocketing costs to our state. While Stefanik puts Trump first and New York last, Governor Hochul is lowering costs, cutting middle-class taxes, and fighting for the New Yorkers Stefanik abandoned.”
Read the full article here
