NEW YORK – Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has announced that she will run for Governor of New York next year. 

Citing disapproval of current Governor Kathy Hochul and a need for change, Stefanik said she is launching a “unified campaign… to save our state.”

Stefanik, 41, was the youngest woman elected to Congress when she was first elected in 2014 at 30 years old. She represents New York’s 21st Congressional District, which includes the North Country and Adirondack Mountains region.

“After serving New York families for over a decade in Congress and helping to support Republican candidates up and down the ballot, we have the infrastructure and support to mount the most unified campaign for a Republican candidate to defeat Kathy Hochul to save our state,” Stefanik said in a statement.

According to a press release, 56 state Republican County Chairs representing over 72% of the weighted vote have endorsed Stefanik’s campaign for Governor; 50% is required to be the New York Republican Party’s nominee, marking her the presumptive Republican nominee for Governor of New York.

Sullivan County Republican Committee Chair Rob Doherty was one of the county chairs who endorsed her. 

Doherty called her announcement to run “a promise for the future of our Sullivan County and communities like it.”

He added, “We need someone like Ms. Stefanik to save our communities from oppressive energy costs and policies, invest in our agriculture and healthcare industries, reinforce our infrastructure, and make our cities, villages, and towns safer. We cannot endure and will not survive another Hochul term where the Buffalo billionaires thrive and everyday joes and janes are duking it out for crumbs.”

Stefanik, an Albany native, served as the highest-ranking woman in Congress as House Republican Conference Chair and lives in Schuylerville with her husband and their son.