A fired up Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) on Friday blasted Gov. Kathy Hochul for bending the knee to New York Metropolis’s socialist Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani — as she formally launched herself into the 2026 gubernatorial race.
Stefanik ripped into the Democratic governor for backing Mamdani forward of his election victory this week, arguing the transfer solely added to her lengthy listing of failures for New Yorkers.
“When New Yorkers had been in search of robust management from a governor to not bend the knee to Zohran Mandami, Kathy Hochul bent the knee,” Stefanik instructed Fox Information’ “Fox & Associates.”
“Why did she try this? As a result of she is hemorrhaging assist, even in her personal occasion,” she continued.
“This can be a poisonous governor who has a document of delivering the best taxes within the nation, of injuring arduous working New Yorkers, of turning her again on regulation enforcement officers and small companies. New York is in disaster due to Kathy Hochul’s management.”
Stefanik formally kicked off her gubernatorial marketing campaign earlier Friday, declaring that the Empire State had “fallen” underneath her Democratic rival’s reign.
She hammered residence her personal decade-long document as an upstate congresswoman, insisting she had the assist to show New York purple for the primary time in 20 years.
“I’ve a document of flipping a district that was beforehand held by a Democrat,” she stated.
“I’ve received each main and normal election, and we’ve over carried out — profitable not simply Republicans however independents and a justifiable share of Democrats as nicely — as a result of my document has been delivering outcomes for households, for small companies, for our veterans, for our farmers.”
New York GOP Chair Ed Cox was fast to hail Stefanik’s gubernatorial marketing campaign, describing her as a “unifier and occasion builder with the brains, the heart and the assets” to win.
“She has fought for our rules on daily basis of her profession and by no means backs down. She is the warrior we have to lead the struggle in opposition to Democrats’ corrupt Albany machine,” he stated in an announcement.
“Due to Kathy Hochul and Democrats, New York leads the nation in outmigration as essentially the most taxed, least free, least reasonably priced state in America. There won’t be a Republican main and a 12 months from now, Elise will lead our group to victory over Kathy Hochul, finish one-party Democrat rule, and make New York reasonably priced once more.”
Hochul’s marketing campaign, in the meantime, responded to information of Stefanik’s marketing campaign by ripping her as a “sellout.”
“Sellout Stefanik is Donald Trump’s primary cheerleader in Congress and his right-hand girl in his warfare on New York: gutting well being care, jacking up prices with costly tariffs, and slicing funding for our police, colleges, and hospitals,” her marketing campaign communications director Sarafina Chitika stated in an announcement.
“Apparently, screwing over New Yorkers in Congress wasn’t sufficient — now she’s attempting to deliver Trump’s chaos and skyrocketing prices to our state. Whereas Stefanik places Trump first and New York final, Governor Hochul is decreasing prices, slicing middle-class taxes, and combating for the New Yorkers Stefanik deserted.”
