Stefanik keeps rumors alive on run for governor, opens up state-level PAC to boost downballot candiates
Jun. 4—Congresswoman Elise M. Stefanik has renewed her focus on state-level elections in New York, launching a new political action committee meant to boost GOP candidates in local races.
On Wednesday, Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, announced she'd launched "Save New York PAC," echoing a refrain she's inserted into many of her public statements about state politics in recent weeks.
"After years of failed single-party Democrat rule in New York, is has never been more clear that we need strong, commonsense Republican candidates and campaigns in local elections this November to build the groundwork for 2026," she said. "I am proud of the strong support my political team has developed over the past decade sue to the generous support from New York voters and donors who have build our political apparatus into a fundraising and political juggernaut to deliver policies that benefit New Yorkers."
Stefanik has been involved in local state politics for years — as she became a more influential member of the national Republican party, she quietly built ranks of local volunteers who worked for her campaign and others, and the Congresswoman has been an influential booster for downballot Republicans across the state. She also spent years working to boost the presence of women within the Republican party with her Elevate-PAC that endorsed conservative female candidates in House races across New York and the nation.
This latest step formalizes some of that state-level ground game, and comes at a time when the north country Congresswoman is openly floating a potential run for governor next year.
Stefanik has tried to find a new lane forward after losing out on the U.N. Ambassadorship position she was nominated for in early April — she's a member of House GOP leadership in a position only rarely used, and despite promises from the Speaker she still hasn't been restored to the House Intelligence Select Committee. She's floated a run for Governor in the last few weeks, appearing more prominently in New York Republican circles and hammering sitting Governor Kathleen C. Hochul over issue after issue.
But an internal poll circulated among Republicans, first reported by the Time's Union's Dan Clark, shows that while Republicans have momentum to win in New York, it's a moderate candidate that's most likely to flip the state's highest elected office. That polling found that New York's electorate has shifted to be less favorable to Democrats and progressive policies over the last few election cycle. The polling also found that contentious issues at the national level, like DOGE and the threat of cuts to Medicaid and Medicare have driven some voters away from the GOP but not directly to the Democrats.
The result is that a strong contingent of non-aligned moderate voters will be up for grabs in 2026 — and the polling found that about 26% of voters in New York define themselves as moderates, the largest group out of five ranging from "MAGA" to "progressive."
The group who conducted the polling, Deep Root Analytics, contend that indicates Hudson Valley Representative Mike R. Lawler, R-Pearl River, is best suited to be the GOP nominee in the gubernatorial race in 2026.
"A core tenant of Mike Lawler's success has been his ability to appeal to moderates and independents," their memo reads.
The memo continued, noting that Lawler has focused regularly on local and bipartisan issues like the state and local tax deduction, Medicare and Medicaid. They said this track record gives "credence to a viewpoint that suggests Lawler is better positioned to compete in a statewide gubernatorial general election than any other Republican in New York."
Unsaid in that message is that Stefanik is not as well positioned — the Congresswoman has made her brand as a MAGA firebrand in recent years, catapulting herself from a moderate backbencher representing a quasi-swing district to a GOP hardliner in a position of power, representing a solidly Republican district. Stefanik has cemented herself as an ally of President Donald J. Trump on the national stage, and in local issues has not significantly deviated from the Presidents positions.
That's something the state Democratic party has started to seize on, and it's a criticism she's faced before. Back in 2021, when the Biden administration was working to pass a COVID relief bill that included millions in infrastructure investment, the final agreement cut out a bill to direct money to the Seaway International Bridge in Massena, which came after the GOP dubbed the bridge money a pork project for Sen. Charles E. Schumer and Stefanik declined to push for it among her colleagues.
Now, state Democrats are hammering her over her silence on another local issue — the Trump administration's decision to cut billions in clean energy grants for private companies, including a $22 million investment for the Lowville Kraft-Heinz plant. That money would have decarbonized the plant, combining with Kraft-Heinz money to buy new, electric equipment and cut CO2 emissions by 99% in total.
Senator Schumer called the cuts a travesty and demanded they be reversed — and he called on Congresswoman Stefanik to join him in those calls. But despite outreach from multiple news organizations including the Watertown Daily Times, Stefanik has not said a word about the loss of funding for a critical manufacturer in her district.
"Elise Stefanik is putting her loyalty to Trump ahead of her constituents as the Trump administration cuts critical funding for one of the largest employers in her district," said Addison Dick, a spokesperson for the NY Democratic Party. "Stefanik has consistently backed Trump's reckless DOGE cuts and is refusing to stand up for New Yorkers — pulling $22 million from the largest employer in Lewis County is an affront to the north country that will hurt a critical factory for upstate dairy farmers. New Yorkers deserve a leader who will fight for them instead of bending the knee to Trump at every turn, and Stefanik has shown no interest in doing her job."
The congresswoman's office did not respond to a request for comment in response to the Dem's criticism — but in an interview with conservative talk radio hose Sid Rosenberg on Tuesday, the Congresswoman reiterated her call to "save New York," and said that the key to winning the Governor's office isn't being moderate, it's being MAGA.
"I have the strongest relationship with President Trump in the delegation," she told Rosenberg. "He was able to surge New York turnout, we are going to need those Trump voters, and it needs to be a candidate who excites those voters."
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