WASHINGTON — Rep. Elise Stefanik, a top ally of President Donald Trump and who once held one of the top leadership positions in the House of Representatives, will drop her bid for governor and won’t run for reelection next year.
Stefanik made the surprise announcement on Friday, ending her high-profile gubernatorial campaign just a month and a half after entering the race. She also abruptly announced she would not seek another term in Congress, where she made history in 2015 as the youngest woman ever elected to the House at the time.
“I did not come to this decision lightly for our family. I am truly humbled and grateful for the historic and overwhelming support from Republicans, Conservatives, Independents, and Democrats all across the state for our campaign to Save New York,” Stefanik said in a statement. “However, 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.”
Stefanik has had a meteoric rise within her party over the last decade, positioning herself as one of Trump’s most prominent allies.
Stefanik began her career in her early 20s while working in the Bush administration for the U.S. Domestic Policy Council and later as an assistant to the White House chief of staff. In 2012, Stefanik joined Romney’s presidential campaign to help manage and prepare vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan for debates.
Those positions helped prepare Stefanik to be a prolific fundraiser and communicator for her party, ultimately leading to her first congressional campaign in 2014 — during which she received the endorsement of Romney and Ryan.
With her victory, Stefanik made history as the youngest woman to be elected to Congress at just 30 years old. In the decade since, Stefanik has had a steady rise to power serving in a variety of leadership positions, including as the House Republican Conference chairwoman in 2021 to replace former Rep. Liz Cheney.
In that position, Stefanik served as a top ally to Trump within the halls of Congress to ensure a smooth path for his first-term agenda.
After Trump won the 2024 election, Stefanik was immediately rumored as a top candidate for a role within his administration. The New York congresswoman was nominated to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, although that was ultimately withdrawn earlier this year due to Republicans’ slim majority in the House.
After that nomination fell through, Stefanik set her eyes on the governor’s mansion in the Empire State — and began criticizing incumbent Hochul to lay the groundwork for her campaign.
However, Stefanik still faced a challenging primary in New York, and Trump has slowwalked offering an endorsement.
Stefanik has also made headlines in recent weeks after breaking with top Republican leadership, even going so far as to suggest House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was losing control of his members.
Her public break with Johnson raised eyebrows across Capitol Hill as she was the highest-ranked Republican so far to explicitly challenge his leadership. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Stefanik suggested most Republicans wouldn’t back him as speaker if given the chance to vote a second time.
“I believe that the majority of Republicans would vote for new leadership,” she told the outlet. “It’s that widespread.”
Stefanik is the latest in a long line of Republicans retiring from the House next year, making her one of 25 GOP lawmakers to leave the lower chamber. She leaves behind a solidly Republican seat.