Rep. Elise Stefanik will formally announce her run for governor once November’s elections are over, New York Republican Party Chair Ed Cox said, setting the stage for a 2026 matchup with Democratic incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Cox, who was re-elected this week to another two-year term as party chair, told reporters Stefanik will have a clear path to the GOP nomination and that the state party does not plan to hold a primary.

“She just doesn’t want to, in fact, sort of get mixed up in the local elections,” Cox said of the North Country congresswoman’s timing. “Let those happen, let the candidates carry that, let them be highlighted, and then after that she will declare.”

Pressed on the nomination process, Cox added: “We’re not going to have a primary this year.”

The move cements Stefanik as the party’s standard-bearer following Hudson Valley Rep. Mike Lawler’s decision in July not to pursue a gubernatorial campaign.

Asked for comment, a Stefanik spokesperson pointed to her Fox News Radio interview earlier Wednesday, when host Brian Kilmeade asked about her timeline.

“After the November elections, Brian,” Stefanik said. “You have to make sure that Republicans continue to do well. We’ve made those investments in each of the 62 counties. We have key races, and after this November I look forward to making my announcement. And we’re getting an outpouring of support all across the state.”

Cox, who ran unopposed, will now serve his seventh term as chair of the state GOP.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)