A major supporter of Donald Trump has officially entered the race to become New York's next governor just a few days after Zohran Mamdani's surprising victory.
US Representative Stefanik will compete against the current Democratic governor Kathy Hochul in the 2026 elections.
"It will be very, very soon and people are very excited," Stefanik said in an interview on Fox News' The Story with Martha MacCallum.
Afterwards in a statement, she said, "I am running for Governor to bring a new generation of leadership to Albany to make New York affordable and safe for families all across our great state."
As per multiple reports, Stefanik has already been quietly reaching out to influential Republicans and local officials to strengthen her campaign.
Stefanik who has been a US House representative for ten years has recently intensified her criticism of Governor Kathy Hochul.
She often calls Hochul “the worst governor in America” on social media and accuses her of supporting Mamdani.
Not only this, in her campaign launch announcement, she claimed that Hochul "bent the knee" to Mamdani.
Besides this, Trump had tapped Stefanik to be the US ambassador to the United Nations shortly after winning re-election in November.
