Northeast

Stefanik exits NY governor race, will not run for re-election to US House

Published

2 months ago

December 24, 2025

Stefanik exits NY governor race, will not run for re-election to US House

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., on Friday announced that she is ending her bid for New York State governor and will not seek reelection, just over a month after formally launching her campaign.

In a message posted to X, Stefanik cited her family as her reason for stepping out of the 2026 race to unseat Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.

POTENTIAL GOP CHALLENGER WARNS HOCHUL THAT A CORPORATE TAX HIKE WOULD BE A ‘DISASTER’ FOR NEW YORK’S ECONOMY

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., leaves a House Republican Conference meeting. On Friday, she announced that she is dropping out of the race for governor of New York and will not seek re-election to the House. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“While spending precious time with my family this Christmas season, I have made the decision to suspend my campaign for Governor and will not seek reelection to Congress. I did not come to this decision lightly for our family,” she wrote on X.

“And while many know me as Congresswoman, my most important title is Mom,” she added. “I believe that being a parent is life’s greatest gift and greatest responsibility. I have thought deeply about this and I know that as a mother, I will feel profound regret if I don’t further focus on my young son’s safety, growth, and happiness – particularly at his tender age.”

KEY TRUMP ALLY JUMPS INTO NEW YORK GOVERNOR’S RACE DAYS AFTER SHOCKING MAMDANI MAYORAL VICTORY

Rep. Elise Stefanik, left, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, right. (John Lamparski/Getty Images; Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

Stefanik, a top congressional supporter of President Donald Trump, was praised by the president.

“Elise Stefanik, a fantastic person and Congresswoman from New York State, has just announced she won’t be running for Governor,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Elise is a tremendous talent, regardless of what she does. She will have GREAT success, and I am with her all the way!”

After ramping up for months, Stefanik officially declared her candidacy for governor in November with a platform centered on crime, taxes and affordability across the Empire State.

And Stefanik, who represents a conservative-leaning district in upstate New York, was a vocal critic of Hochul, who is seeking a second four-year term after being sworn in August 2021 as New York’s first female governor, after Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned in disgrace amid multiple scandals.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York who was briefly President Donald Trump’s U.N. ambassador nominee, during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (Getty Images)

The now-41-year-old Stefanik, a Harvard graduate who worked as a staffer in then-President George W. Bush’s administration and later as an aide on the Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan 2012 GOP presidential ticket, made history in 2014 as the youngest woman ever elected to the U.S. House.

A one-time moderate Republican, Stefanik transformed herself into a MAGA champion during Trump’s first term in the White House, rising through the ranks of GOP leadership in the chamber. Her loyalty to Trump, including defending him during the first of his two impeachments, appeared to pay off after he won back the presidency in the 2024 election. Trump nominated Stefanik to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a high-profile cabinet-level position.

Then-House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik stands with then-former President Donald Trump at a 2024 presidential campaign event in New Hampshire. (Getty Images)

But Trump, concerned about the GOP’s razor-thin majority in the chamber, in March rescinded the nomination, worrying that Republicans could lose Stefanik’s seat to the Democrats in a special election.

While Stefanik remained in the House, and GOP leaders created a new leadership position for her, she soon eyed running for New York governor in 2026, with Trump’s encouragement.

Another potential GOP Republican gubernatorial contender, Rep. Mike Lawler, announced during the summer that he would seek reelection in the House rather than bid for governor.

But Nassau County executive Bruce Blakeman, another Trump ally, last week jumped into the GOP race after mulling a bid for months.

President Donald Trump is greeted by Bruce Blakeman, County Executive of Nassau County, New York, after arriving at the Republic Airport on Air Force One on Sept. 26, 2025 in Farmingdale, New York. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Trump stayed neutral, telling reporters at the White House after Blakeman announced his candidacy that “Elise is fantastic and Bruce is.”

“Two fantastic people, and I always hate it when two very good friends of mine are running, and I hope there’s not a lot of damage done,” the president added.

Even though Stefanik was the clear polling and fundraising frontrunner for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, those in her political orbit told Fox News Digital Stefanik was concerned that a primary battle would make her uphill climb against Hochul in blue-leaning New York ever steeper.

In her message, Stefanik thanked her supporters for their donations but said it wouldn’t be an “effective use of our time or your generous resources to spend the first half of next year in an unnecessary and protracted Republican primary, especially in a challenging state like New York.”

Blakeman, in a statement, applauded Stefanik “for her outstanding service to the people of New York and to all Americans” and called her “a strong voice for common-sense values, national security, and economic opportunity.”

Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York headlines a Staten Island GOP fundraising dinner in New York City on June 2, 2025. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

As she eyed a run for governor, Stefanik argued in a Fox News Digital interview in June that Hochul was “the worst governor in America.” It’s a line she would repeatedly use in the ensuing months.

And Stefanik, aiming to paint the governor as an extremist, regularly tied Hochul to now-Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani of New York City, a socialist and the first Muslim mayor of the nation’s most populous city.

But Trump seemingly undercut Stefanik’s messaging that Mamdani was a “jihadist” after a cordial embrace of the mayor-elect during an Oval Office meeting after his New York City victory.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Democratic Governors Association spokesperson Kevin Donohoe, reacting to the news, claimed that Stefanik “saw the writing on the wall and knew she would lose — big — to Governor Hochul.”

The governor’s campaign, in a statement, argued that “Stefanik has finally acknowledged reality: If you run against Governor Kathy Hochul, you are going to lose.”

And Hochul campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki called Blakeman “100% MAGA.”

Read the full article from Here

Click to comment

New Hampshire

Get outdoors: New Hampshire Outdoor Expo returns bigger and better

Published

18 minutes ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Get outdoors: New Hampshire Outdoor Expo returns bigger and better

State

Zip Code

Country

Source link

New Jersey

Did anyone win Powerball? Winning numbers for March 4, 2026

Published

24 minutes ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Did anyone win Powerball? Winning numbers for March 4, 2026

APP.com Digital Desk
| Asbury Park Press

Powerball winning numbers are in for the Wednesday, March 2 drawing with a jackpot that reached an estimated $20 million ($9.4 million cash option).

The winning numbers in Wednesday’s drawing are 7, 14, 42, 47, and 56, with Powerball number 6. The Power Play number is 4.

Did anyone win the Powerball jackpot?

No one won the Powerball jackpot

When is the next drawing of the Powerball?

The next Powerball drawing is Saturday. Drawings are held at 10:59 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

How late can you buy a Powerball ticket?

In New Jersey, in-store and online ticket sales are available until 9:59 p.m. on the night of the draw.

What does it cost to play Powerball?

Powerball costs $2 to play. For an additional $1 per play, the Power Play feature can multiply nonjackpot prizes by two, three, four, five or 10 times.

Are you a Powerball winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All New Jersey Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $599.99. For prizes over $599.99, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at New Jersey Lottery offices. By mail, send a winner claim form, winning lottery ticket and a copy of a government-issued ID to New Jersey Lottery, Attn: Validations, PO Box 041, Trenton, NJ 08625-0041.

Winners can drop off their claim form and winning ticket in person at the New Jersey Lottery office where a secure drop box is available. Claim forms are also available at the office. Hours are Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Lawrence Park Complex, 1333 Brunswick Avenue Circle, Trenton, NJ 08648.

To find a lottery retalier, you can search the NJ lotto website.

What is the Powerball payout?

The complete guide to winnings is:

Match 5 White Balls + Powerball: Jackpot
Match 5 White Balls: $1 million
Match 4 White Balls + Powerball: $50,000
Match 4 White Balls: $100
Match 3 White Balls + Powerball: $100
Match 3 White Balls: $7
Match 2 White Balls + Powerball: $7
Match 1 White Ball + Powerball: $4
Match Powerball: $4
Match 5 White Balls with Power Play: $2 million
Match 4 White Balls + Powerball with Power Play: $200,000
Match 4 White Balls with Power Play: $400
Match 3 White Balls + Powerball with Power Play: $400
Match 3 White Balls with Power Play: $28
Match 2 White Balls + Powerball with Power Play: $28
Match 1 White Ball + Powerball with Power Play: $16
Match Powerball with Power Play: $16

What are the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot?

The overall odds of winning the Powerball are 1 in 292.2 million.

How do I find the Powerball winning numbers?

Powerball drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee. Drawings are also lived streamed on Powerball.com. The winning numbers are posted to the Powerball and New Jersey Lottery websites.

Source link

Pennsylvania

3 dead in apparent murder-suicide spanning from Pennsylvania to Illinois, police say

Published

1 hour ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

3 dead in apparent murder-suicide spanning from Pennsylvania to Illinois, police say

Madeline Bartos,

Jennifer Borrasso

Updated on: March 5, 2026 / 2:16 AM EST
/ CBS Pittsburgh

Two women are dead in Pennsylvania and a man is dead in Illinois after an apparent murder-suicide, police said on Wednesday.

According to a report from the Pennsylvania State Police, the investigation began in Hillside, Illinois, when police there were dispatched after a man reported two women dead in Jackson Township, Pennsylvania. Police said that when officers got to Hillside, about 15 miles west of Chicago, they found that the man had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

After identifying him, troopers said Hillside officers contacted police from Jackson Township to request a welfare check at the man’s home on Dior Drive, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Map shows distance from Hillside, Illinois, to Zelienople, Pennsylvania

KDKA

Police said officers used forced entry to get into the home and found two women dead from apparent gunshot wounds. It’s believed the two women were family members of the man who died by suicide in Illinois, investigators said.

Pennsylvania State Police said they’ve assumed control of the case and are “actively investigating” what happened surrounding the three deaths.

Police didn’t release any names, saying the process of formal identification and notification of next of kin hasn’t been completed. Sources told KDKA that the victims were a husband, wife and their daughter.

“At this time, investigators believe there is no ongoing threat to the public, and law enforcement is not searching for any additional individuals in connection with this incident,” police wrote in the public information release report. “This remains an active and ongoing investigation.”

State police didn’t release any other details on Wednesday but said more information will be made public when it’s available.

“My first reaction was shocked because this is such a close-knit neighborhood, and to think something that horrible could happen here is very tragic because they were such a good family,” neighbor Danielle Sporer said on Wednesday.

In:

Source link