Stefanik's run for governor gets serious

Politico

2 days ago

Presented by Resorts World New York City
THE NEXT GOV? IT COULD BE ELISE… CAPEESH?: She's serious about running.
Upstate Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik said today she's 'criss-crossing the state' and 'putting the pieces together' to launch a run for governor — and she took a thinly veiled swing at Rep. Mike Lawler while doing it.
'We need to save New York, and I'm taking a very strong look,' she said in a conversation about a potential run with conservative talk radio host Sid Rosenberg. 'I'm going to make a decision in the coming months.'
Stefanik is the longest serving member of New York's Republican congressional delegation, and one of the most pro-Trump representatives out there.
But her once-soaring celebrity in Washington became the stuff of tragicomedy after she gave up a top House leadership post to become President Donald Trump's pick for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations — only to have Trump crush her hopes and tell her he changed his mind.
Fearing Stefanik's ascent to the U.N. would put the House GOP's razor-thin majority at risk by forcing a special election for her seat, Trump decided to hand the U.N. role to a dude who got canned after he shared war secrets on Signal to a magazine journalist.
So she started teasing a run for governor instead. And today, it got serious. She noted Republicans need a staunchly pro-Trump candidate to run for the statehouse this year — an implicit shot at Lawler, who represents the Hudson Valley and has stood up to Trump over his proposed cap on SALT in the tax bill and plans to gut Planned Parenthood's funding.
'I have the strongest relationship with President Trump in the delegation,' she said in the radio interview this morning. '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 and is a close ally of President Trump.'
Lawler's team declined to comment on Stefanik's remarks. He has said he will decide if he is running for governor sometime in June.
The state's Democratic Party is capitalizing off the remark. 'Elise Stefanik is making it crystal clear: the GOP primary is about Donald Trump, not New York,' party spokesperson Addison Dick said.
The comments from Stefanik came after she gave a rousing speech Monday night to the Staten Island GOP, where Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis signaled she would endorse Stefanik for the post: 'I believe that Elise Stefanik would make a great governor because she would reinstate common sense, put public safety first and make New York affordable once again,' Malliotakis said during the event.
Unlike MAGA-star Stefanik, Lawler has tried to build his brand as the Republican who can win over the swing votersand suburbanites needed to secure victory in a governor's race in deep-blue New York. Last year, he handily won reelection in a district that voted decisively for Biden.
Leading up to the presidential election, he was lurching at every opportunity to criticize Gov. Kathy Hochul as he teased a run for governor, even buying the website congestionpricingsucks.com to take a swing at her decision to unpause the controversial Manhattan toll program.
But Trump poured cold water on a potential gubernatorial run after he endorsed Lawler for reelection to Congress — instead of governor.
During her radio interview, Stefanik also highlighted a new problem for Gov. Kathy Hochul as she wades closer to the 2026 campaign trail: her Lieutenant Governor's decision to run against her will be used against her.
'That is supposed to be her closest political ally,' Stefanik said of Antonio Delgado, who announced a primary run Monday, during the radio interview. 'That is how much she has failed the state of New York. She is a feckless, failed leader … So we are putting the pieces together. If we do this, this will be the most well-funded, the most well-organized statewide campaign since when we last won with George Pataki.'
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a staunchly pro-Trump Republican who's also close to Trump, is a potential Republican nominee for governor as well.
Don't bet on a GOP primary showdown, though. State Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox has made it clear he doesn't want one. And Stefanik said this morning she has a good relationship with both Blakeman and Lawler.
'It is going to be a little bit more difficult than in 2022 than Lee Zeldin had,' Cox said in April, referring to former Rep. Lee Zeldin's failed 2022 gubernatorial run. 'On the other hand, he had a very difficult primary that got in his way. This time, we are not going to have a primary.' — Jason Beeferman
DEBATE TOMORROW NIGHT: POLITICO is proud to co-host the live mayoral debate with WNBC and Telemundo on TV and online Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
Andrew Cuomo will be smack dab in the middle of the nine candidates on stage after positioning was set for the first official debate of the Democratic primary.
The spots were randomly selected, but center stage makes sense for the ex-governor — who has skipped every previous forum where candidates appeared side-by-side. — Jeff Coltin
FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
NY-17 ROCKLAND COUNTY DINER BEEF: A planned meeting of Rockland County's top party leaders in a New City diner is rankling local Democrats and a primary candidate poised to compete for Lawler's Hudson Valley seat.
Rockland County Democratic Committee Chair Laurence Toole sent out an invitation last week to fellow Democrats for a Wednesday meeting in New City's CityLine Family Restaurant, where party leaders were expected to discuss who they plan to support for Congress.
But some local party officials, like Orangetown Democratic Committee Chair Liza Barrie, were left off the list.
Now Barrie and one primary candidate are making noise, arguing the closed-door convention was a premature ploy to endorse Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson — an early favorite to win the party's endorsement in the six-person primary in Lawler's district — without the inclusion of the full county party.
'Let's be clear: an insider endorsement this far out, absent any public deliberation or voter engagement, is an affront to the democratic process,' Barrie said in an email she circulated widely, attempting to get ahead of the meeting. 'It sidelines voters. It shuts out committee members. It hollows out trust in our institutions at the exact moment we need to be building it.'
Barrie leads one of the five Democratic Committees that make up the Rockland Democratic Party. Rockland County makes up a large portion of Lawler's district.
Former FBI analyst John Sullivan, who is running against Davidson in the primary, also criticized the gathering:
'With nearly 17 years of service keeping our country safe at the FBI, John Sullivan knows a lot about keeping secrets, but it seems strange for a local party committee to be running a top secret endorsement process,' his campaign manager, Nick Mattes, said in a statement. 'Regardless, when John meets with voters, they aren't asking him what political insiders think about candidates.'
Davidson and Toole did not respond to requests for comment. — Jason Beeferman
From City Hall
ICED OUT AGAIN: A state judge extended a ban on federal immigration officials at Rikers Island today.
The ruling deals another blow to New York City Mayor Eric Adams and top officials working for President Donald Trump, who hoped to collaborate on immigration enforcement at the city's notorious jail complex but have been stymied by the courts.
'The restraining order is extended until I issue my decision on the application,' Judge Mary Rosado said during a state Supreme Court hearing in Manhattan.
The judge is currently mulling a request from the New York City Council to forbid the city from working with the Trump administration for the duration of the court case. She said today she expects to reach a decision on that matter within roughly a week.
Ultimately, the Council is seeking to prevent the joint effort altogether.
In April, lawmakers filed a lawsuit arguing City Hall's directive allowing federal immigration authorities onto Rikers was part of a corrupt quid pro quo between the mayor and the Trump administration. Attorneys retained by the city disputed that notion and said the executive order was above board. — Joe Anuta
IN OTHER NEWS
NADLER WRITES TO JORDAN: Top Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee are calling on chair Jim Jordan to condemn the detainment of a Congressional aide by Department of Homeland Security authorities.
A staffer for Rep. Jerry Nadler — the former senior Democrat on the Judiciary panel — was handcuffed in the member's district office last week amid protests outside the building, which is also home to an immigration courthouse. DHS claimed the aide, who was never arrested, was briefly detained as part of a larger security check to protect federal employees.
But in their letter to Jordan today, Nadler and Rep. Jamie Raskin — the current ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee — argued the staffer's detainment followed a pattern of threatening actions by the Trump administration. They urged Jordan to call DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to testify before the committee regarding her agency's posture.
'These types of intimidation tactics are completely unwarranted and cannot be tolerated,' the lawmakers wrote to Jordan.
Spokespeople for Jordan and Noem did not return requests for comment. — Hailey Fuchs
— WE STAND WITH YOU, GOV: A trove of electeds raced to endorse Hochul after Delgado announced a primary challenge. (City & State)
— BUFFALO MAYOR RACE: State Sen. Sean Ryan nabbed the endorsement of Erie County executive Mark Poloncarz in his bid to be the mayor of the state's second biggest city. (WIVB)
— CUOMO COORDINATION: A watchdog group is pressing regulators to investigate Cuomo over alleged illegal coordination with a lobbying firm. (POLITICO)
Missed this morning's New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.