NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, a moderate Republican representing a suburban New York swing district, said Wednesday he won’t run for governor next year.
Lawler had been viewed as a potentially strong challenger to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul. But another prominent House Republican, Rep. Elise Stefanik, also has been eying a candidacy. She said in a statement Wednesday she’ll decide after this November’s election.
Lawler, a second-term Congress member from the state’s Hudson Valley north of New York City, told the “Fox and Friends” morning show that running for reelection to the House was “the right thing to do for me and my family and my district.”
“Keeping the House majority is critical if we are going to continue to move this economy in the right direction,” he said.
The announcement comes after Lawler held a series of sometimes raucous town halls in his district over the spring — at a time when Republicans were being advised to skip the forums that were drawing angry questions about President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Trump in May endorsed Lawler for reelection in the 17th Congressional District , calling him “a Strong Champion, and Highly Effective Representative” in a post on Truth Social.
Hochul, a former lieutenant governor, assumed the top office in 2021 after predecessor Andrew Cuomo resigned. Hochul then was elected in 2022.
She also faces a challenge from her own lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado, amid a feud between the two Democrats.
Lawler arrived in the House after defeating former U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones, a Democrat who previously represented part of the district. During that campaign, The New York Times obtained a photo of Lawler wearing blackface in 2006 at a college Halloween party where he dressed as singer Michael Jackson. Lawler said the outfit was intended to be an homage to a childhood idol.
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