Elise Stefanik Declares 2026 Gubernatorial Race an “Existential Battle” for New York’s Future

By: Fern Sidman – Jewish Voice News

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, the highest-ranking Republican woman in the House of Representatives, has officially entered the 2026 New York gubernatorial race — and she’s framing it as nothing less than a crusade to “save New York and all of Western civilization from socialism.”

In an expansive interview on Saturday with The New York Post’s Rich Calder, Stefanik laid out a vision that contrasts starkly with the policies of incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul and the new, avowedly socialist New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. Her remarks, running nearly 20 minutes and published in excerpts by The New York Post, painted the upcoming contest as a defining ideological confrontation between two visions of America: one rooted in economic freedom and public safety, the other, she argued, descending into chaos, over-taxation, and the slow erosion of democratic capitalism.

“This is an existential battle for New York and for Western civilization,” Stefanik told The New York Post, her words deliberate and forceful. “It’s the most important election New York State will have had in my lifetime.”

Stefanik’s announcement did not come as a surprise. For months, speculation had been mounting about her gubernatorial ambitions, especially as her national profile grew following her leadership role in the House Republican Conference and her close alliance with President Trump. Yet, as she told The New York Post, it was the accelerating decline of New York — marked by out-of-control crime, punitive taxation, and ideological extremism — that pushed her to act.

“I am running to save New York,” Stefanik said. “After two decades of Democrats in the governor’s seat, New York has become the most unaffordable and unsafe state in the nation.”

She cited The New York Post’s extensive coverage of rising crime and cost-of-living pressures across the Empire State: “Because of Kathy Hochul’s failed leadership, we have the highest tax burden in America, the highest utility bills, the highest rents, and the highest grocery prices. Every day, violent crimes are being committed against law-abiding citizens because of her disastrous bail reform policies.”

Born and raised in upstate New York, Stefanik emphasized that she understands both the state’s economic potential and its growing despair. “When I first ran for Congress over a decade ago, no one thought I could win. It was a Democratic seat, but I built a coalition — Republicans, independents, and Democrats — and we won big. That’s exactly what we’ll do again.”

Stefanik’s campaign strategy appears finely tuned to exploit Hochul’s vulnerabilities. As The New York Post has frequently reported, the governor’s approval ratings have cratered statewide — even among registered Democrats.

“Kathy Hochul is seeing the same polling we are,” Stefanik told The Post, “and among registered Democrats, she can’t even break 50% approval. That’s why she made the catastrophic decision to endorse Zohran Mamdani — to try to appease the far left.”

Stefanik called Hochul’s endorsement of Mamdani “politically toxic and devastating,” arguing that it alienated moderate Democrats and suburban voters already uneasy about the city’s direction. “That decision put her in hyperdrive opposition from traditional Democrats, independents, and Republicans alike,” she said. “Even her biggest donors are now mine. Some of her largest bundlers have flipped to our campaign, and that will be evident in our end-of-year filings.”

Her campaign’s internal polling, shared with The New York Post, shows Hochul underwater in every major region of the state: New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, the Capital District, and upstate New York. “She’s despised across the board,” Stefanik said. “Voters see what she’s done to the state — they’re angry, and they’re ready for change.”

The emergence of Zohran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, as New York City’s next mayor has sent political shockwaves across the state. Stefanik sees his victory as a clarion call — and a defining contrast for her campaign.

At multiple points in her New York Post interview, she lambasted Hochul for “refusing to condemn Mamdani’s radical statements.” She cited a litany of controversies surrounding the new mayor-elect: “She didn’t condemn him when he said he wanted to defund the police. She didn’t condemn him when he said Hamas should not lay down their arms. She didn’t condemn him when he campaigned with the unindicted co-conspirator of the 1993 World Trade Center bombings. And she didn’t condemn him when he said he wants to abolish private property.”

Stefanik called this silence “moral cowardice” and argued that Hochul has effectively tied herself “lock, stock, and barrel” to Mamdani’s radical platform.

“This election will be a referendum on Hochul, but she’s now inseparable from Mamdani,” Stefanik said. “Every failure, every catastrophic mistake he makes in City Hall will reflect on her. And mark my words — crime will skyrocket, businesses will flee, and the middle class will be crushed.”

Indeed, The New York Post has already reported a “Mamdani Effect” on New York’s economy, with wealthy residents leaving the city in droves and Connecticut’s housing market booming as a result. Stefanik pointed to this exodus as proof that the city is entering a period of economic flight similar to the 1970s. “People are fearful — rightfully so — and they’re voting with their feet,” she said.

When asked by The New York Post about the challenge of running in a state where Donald Trump remains polarizing, Stefanik did not shy away from her alliance with the former president. Instead, she reframed it as a question of turnout and arithmetic.

“Kathy Hochul got about 3.1 million votes in 2022. Donald Trump got nearly 3.6 million in New York State,” she said. “This race will be won on turnout — and on a referendum against Hochul’s failures. Her name is on the ballot, not Trump’s.”

Stefanik noted that Hochul’s campaign has already begun using her association with Trump as a fundraising tool, but she sees that as an advantage. “Their panic is our momentum,” she told The New York Post. “They’re helping energize low-propensity voters who sat out previous elections but are now angry enough to act.”

Beyond political rhetoric, Stefanik laid out a detailed policy agenda during her conversation with The New York Post, pledging to dismantle what she called the “anti-growth, anti-family, anti-energy” policies of the Hochul administration.

“Day One, I will lift the moratorium on fracking,” she said. “We need to unleash New York’s natural resources to achieve energy independence. Hochul’s decision to block fracking and ban gas stoves has been catastrophic for our economy.”

She continued: “We’ll greenlight the pipeline projects that Hochul killed, slash the red tape that chokes small businesses, and take a sledgehammer to the bureaucracy that’s driven so many jobs out of the state.”

Energy reform, she argued, would not only lower costs but reinvigorate the state’s stagnant upstate economy. “The Southern Tier, especially, could see thousands of new jobs from responsible fracking and energy infrastructure investment.”

Stefanik also pledged to make public safety a central campaign issue. “The ‘defund the police’ movement was a moral and policy disaster,” she said. “I will reverse New York’s failed bail reform laws and ensure that violent offenders are kept off the streets. Families deserve to feel safe in their neighborhoods again.”

Stefanik was unequivocal about one of New York City’s most contentious issues — congestion pricing. “Oh, absolutely, I will reverse it,” she told The New York Post. “It’s a commuter tax, plain and simple. It punishes working New Yorkers and devastates the city’s economy.”

She promised to focus on affordability by cutting taxes and encouraging private-sector growth. “I’m the only candidate who will actually cut taxes,” she said. “I’ve already delivered the largest middle-class tax cut in New York’s history through the lifting of the SALT deduction. We will make New York competitive again — not the most taxed state in the nation.”

The New York Post noted that Stefanik’s pro-growth message is aimed at recapturing the coalition that nearly propelled Rep. Lee Zeldin to victory in 2022. By combining fiscal conservatism with populist outrage over quality-of-life issues, Stefanik hopes to build a bipartisan wave large enough to overcome the state’s deep-blue electorate.

Stefanik did not hold back in her assessment of the incumbent governor. “Kathy Hochul is the worst governor in America,” she said bluntly to The New York Post. “And Zohran Mamdani will be the worst mayor in America. Together, they’re a nightmare for New York.”

She described Hochul’s rise as one of political happenstance rather than leadership. “She’s an accidental governor,” Stefanik said. “Let’s look at her career — a one-term member of Congress, a weak lieutenant governor chosen by Andrew Cuomo, and a placeholder who became governor only because Cuomo resigned. She was an unknown in 2022 and nearly lost to Zeldin. Now she’s known — and she’s despised.”

According to The New York Post, Stefanik’s campaign intends to hammer that message relentlessly, contrasting Hochul’s “reactive management” with her own record of “results and resolve.”

Stefanik repeatedly emphasized her bipartisan appeal, pointing to her track record of winning support across party lines in her upstate district. “I’ve been rated one of the most bipartisan and effective members of Congress, especially on small business issues,” she told The New York Post. “That’s the kind of leadership New York needs — pragmatic, energetic, and unafraid.”

She also underscored her identity as a mother and working professional. “I understand the struggles families face — high grocery bills, unsafe streets, unaffordable housing. I bring energy, empathy, and results. Kathy Hochul brings excuses.”

In her closing remarks to The New York Post, Stefanik returned to her overarching theme: that this race is about far more than the governor’s mansion.

“This is a battle for the soul of New York,” she said. “If we lose this fight, it won’t just be a defeat for our state — it will be a warning for the rest of America. Because what happens here reverberates across the nation. New York has always been the gateway to Western civilization in the modern world — a symbol of freedom, enterprise, and ingenuity. We cannot let socialism destroy that.”

Stefanik’s framing of the 2026 gubernatorial race — as both a local election and a global ideological showdown — ensures it will draw national attention. For Republicans, it represents their best chance in decades to reclaim Albany; for Democrats, it will be a test of whether their progressive coalition can hold amid public disillusionment and economic distress.

As The New York Post noted, Stefanik’s candidacy transforms New York’s next election into something much larger than a partisan contest. It is, as she insists, “an existential battle for the future of New York — and for the civilization it helped build.”