By Joseph Ax

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Republican U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, will run for governor of New York in 2026, taking on incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul.

Stefanik, in a social media post accompanying a campaign launch video, labeled Hochul “the worst governor in America” and New York “the most unaffordable state in the nation,” and said she was running to make New York “affordable and safe FOR ALL.”

She also sought to tie Hochul to New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist who won the city’s election on Tuesday, part of a broader Republican push to portray Mamdani as the new face of the Democratic Party.

Stefanik, 41, who represents a conservative district in upstate New York, had teased a gubernatorial run fo

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