New York Representative Elise Stefanik, a firm supporter of President Donald Trump and self-identified “ultra-MAGA” congresswoman, has ascended through the GOP ranks in Congress over the past decade. She is now focusing her aspirations on the governor’s residence in Albany.
Stefanik launched her campaign on Friday with a video that critiqued Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul regarding the state’s elevated cost of living and her endorsement of New York City’s mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a democratic-socialist.
“Kathy Hochul has made New York the least affordable state nationwide, burdening families with exorbitant taxes, unaffordable rent, escalating energy expenses, and record-high grocery costs, while associating with an anti-police, tax-increasing, anti-Semitic communist,” a narrator asserts in the video.
“Elise Stefanik will rectify Kathy Hochul’s disastrous situation and restore New York’s greatness,” the narrator adds, echoing Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
Stefanik faces a challenging path in her endeavor to lead the Empire State. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in New York, a state that last elected a Republican governor in 2007. Nonetheless, the most recent gubernatorial contest, where Hochul defeated Rep. Lee Zeldin with 53% of the vote, was the closest the state had seen in years, boosting Republican hopes that the party could reclaim New York’s top executive position.
“I am campaigning for Governor to ensure New York is affordable and safe FOR ALL,” Stefanik declared on X. “Democrats, Republicans, and Independents will unite to rescue our state.”
Here’s what you should know about her as she pursues this office.
Stefanik Was the Youngest Woman Ever Elected to Congress
Stefanik was first elected to the House in 2014 to represent New York’s 21st District, an area home to a significant number of seniors and veterans in the state. She was the first to ever win the district, which had been held by Democratic Rep. Bill Owens for a long time, and—at the age of 30—she became the youngest woman in U.S. history to be elected to Congress.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also from New York, surpassed that record with her election in 2018, when she was merely 29.
Meanwhile, Stefanik now holds the position of the most senior Republican in New York a decade after her initial swearing-in—though she retains the distinction of being the youngest woman to ever serve in House leadership, a title she secured when her GOP colleagues voted her House Republican Conference Chair in 2021.
Stefanik Is a Steadfast Trump Loyalist
While Stefanik commenced her congressional career as a more moderate Republican, she has shifted her political alignment to the right since Trump’s election.
In 2019, she established herself as one of the President’s most dedicated defenders during her service on the Intelligence Committee in the hearings leading up to his first impeachment and during his subsequent Senate trial. Her efforts garnered praise from Trump, who called her a “Republican star” and endorsed her reelection campaign. Stefanik subsequently served as a chair for Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign in New York.
Following his defeat by Joe Biden, Stefanik questioned the legitimacy of the election and was among those who signed an amicus brief to support a lawsuit challenging its results in the Supreme Court. (The legal challenge—which requested the Justices to reject the election results in the swing states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin—was unsuccessful.) On January 6, 2021, the day of the attack on the Capitol, Stefanik voted to reject some of Biden’s Electoral College votes.
During Trump’s 2024 reelection campaign, she was featured on a prominent list of the world’s most influential figures, where she was highlighted as one of “Trump’s most powerful allies in Congress.” And this year, shortly after his return to the White House, he nominated Stefanik to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, describing her as “a strong and very smart America First fighter.” He later withdrew her nomination, however, due to concerns that Republicans could lose her House seat, which would narrow their slim majority in the chamber.
Stefanik Has Held Various Roles Within the GOP
Stefanik initiated her career in public service during the Bush Administration, where she worked at the Domestic Policy Council and the Chief of Staff’s Office from 2006 to 2009.
In 2012, she assisted in developing the Republican National Committee’s platform and oversaw debate preparation for Rep. Paul Ryan’s vice presidential campaign.
By the time Stefanik launched her first bid for office the following year, she had the backing of then-House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. She has since received approval throughout her tenure in Congress from both her fellow GOP lawmakers, who elected her to serve as Chair of the House Republican Conference from 2021 until this January, and her constituents, who reelected her with significant support in 2024. Although her district had been represented by Democrats for a long time before she took office, it is now staunchly red, containing more registered Republicans than Democrats.