GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik drops out of New York governor's race

Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik said Friday that she is ending her campaign for New York governor and will not run for re-election to her House seat next year.

Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik said Friday that she is ending her campaign for New York governor and will not run for re-election to her House seat next year.

In a lengthy post to X, Stefanik, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, wrote that she had "not come to this decision lightly for our family."

"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. And while many know me as Congresswoman, my most important title is Mom," Stefanik said.

Stefanik's surprise decision comes just days after she drew her first major challenger in the Republican primary in Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County county executive who is also a Trump ally. The party's eventual nominee will face an uphill climb in the solidly blue state, though Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul's approval rating has been under water.

After Trump pulled Stefanik's nomination to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in March, she had teased a run for governor for months before officially launching her campaign in November.