Rep. Mike Lawler won’t be running for New York governor in 2026.
The Republican from Rockland County announced his decision Wednesday, eschewing a statewide run he’s teased for months in favor of a reelection bid in the tossup Hudson Valley congressional district he’s won the past two election cycles.
“There’s no question [Gov.] Kathy Hochul is the worst governor in America … and in 2026, she needs to be defeated,” Lawler said on the “Fox & Friends” show. “After months of deliberating over this and really working through it, I’ve decided the right thing to do for myself and my family and my district is to run for reelection.”
Hochul, a Democrat, is running for a second full term next year.
Lawler for months had laid the groundwork for a potential challenge to the incumbent governor, traversing New York to meet with Republican leaders and donors. He sold himself as his party’s best chance at winning statewide office since then-Gov. George Pataki won a third term in 2002.
But Lawler said Wednesday he’d concluded he should instead run for a third term in Congress. A handful of Democrats are lining up to try to win back his Hudson Valley district, which backed Kamala Harris for president last year.
Lawler’s decision could clear the way for another House Republican, Elise Stefanik of northern New York, to avoid a primary should she choose to enter the governor’s race.
Stefanik has been weighing a gubernatorial run of her own, recently telling supporters in Erie County it was a matter of “when,” not “if,” she would launch a campaign.
A major ally of President Donald Trump, she has also traveled across New York to win GOP leaders’ support for a gubernatorial run. Earlier this year, Trump endorsed Lawler for reelection, which was seen by some as a nod to Stefanik.
Republican leaders including Lawler had hoped to avoid a primary like the one in the 2022 gubernatorial race, when eventual GOP nominee Lee Zeldin had to ward off three intraparty challengers before losing to Hochul, a Democrat, by the single digits.
In a statement, Stefanik praised Lawler as a “great, effective and hardworking representative.” She said she will wait until this year’s general election to make her own announcement.
“As I have previously stated, I am focused on supporting strong Republican local and county candidates on the ballot this November to lay the groundwork with a strong team for next year,” she said.
Democrats took the opportunity to needle Lawler, who had recently traversed New York meeting with Republican leaders and donors as he considered a statewide run.
Jay Jacobs, the state Democratic Party chair, said Lawler’s decision showed he was “too weak to take on Governor Hochul — and he knows it.”
In a post on X, Hochul said Lawler “doesn’t have the spine to face me.”
Jimmy Vielkind contributed reporting.
