Rep. Elise Stefanik launches run for New York governor

GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik is launching a run for governor in New York, blaming Democratic Gov.

GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik is launching a run for governor in New York, blaming Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul for the state's high cost of living and tying the governor to New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.

Stefanik's 2½-minute launch video focuses largely on affordability. And while she is a staunch ally of Donald Trump, her campaign video does not make any references to the president.

"There's no question: New York is facing an affordability crisis," a narrator says in Stefanik's launch video, which also features commentators calling Hochul the "worst governor in America."

The video also ties Hochul to Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist who just had a decisive win earlier this week to become the next mayor of New York City. Hochul endorsed Mamdani in the race and appeared with him on the campaign trail.

"Kathy Hochul made New York the most unaffordable state in the nation, crushing families with sky-high taxes, unaffordable rent, soaring energy costs and record-high grocery bills, and cozied up to an anti-police, tax-hiking, antisemitic communist," a narrator says in the video. The launch video also features clips of Mamdani supporters chanting "tax the rich" as Hochul addressed a recent rally.