Rep. Stefanik has ended her campaign for Governor of New York and will not seek re-election to the House of Representatives

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Rep. Elise Stefanik announced Friday that she will suspend her campaign for New York governor and not seek re-election to Congress, abruptly withdrawing from what was expected to be a bruising Republican primary and ending a promising term in the House.

Stefanik, a Republican ally of President Donald Trump, said in a statement that she was confident about her chances in the primary against Bruce Blackman, a Republican county official in the New York City suburbs. But she said, “Staying in the race is not an efficient use of our time,” and that she instead wants to spend more time with her young son and family.

Read more: Long Island’s Bruce Blackman is running for governor and will challenge Elise Stefanik in the Republican primary

“I have thought deeply about this and know that, as a mother, I would be deeply sorry if I had not focused more on my little boy’s safety, development and happiness – especially at his young age,” she said.

Stefanik was scheduled to run in a tough GOP primary against Blakeman, as both politicians consider themselves allies of President Donald Trump and are trying to gain his support. However, the president appeared keen to avoid choosing sides in the race, recently telling reporters: “He’s great, she’s great. They’re both great people.”

On Friday, Trump, on his social media platform Truth, described Stefanik as a “wonderful person and congresswoman.”

“Elise is a tremendous talent, no matter what she does. She’s going to be a huge success, and I’m with her all the way!” Trump wrote.

Stefanik, who represents a conservative congressional district in upstate New York, has been a vocal critic of incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is also seeking re-election but faces a primary challenge from her lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado.

Stefanik was the youngest woman ever elected to Congress when she won her first campaign in 2014 when she was just 30 years old, and represents a new generation of Republicans making inroads in Washington. She eventually rose to her party’s leadership in the House when she became chair of the House Republican Conference in 2021.

Stefanik was initially considered a moderate when she came to Washington, but became more conservative as Trump began to take control of the party. At one point, she refused to mention Trump’s name, and became one of his leading defenders during the first impeachment inquiry. She will continue to vote against certifying the 2020 election results, even after a violent mob stormed the Capitol on January 6.

Last year, Stefanik was nominated to become the president’s ambassador to the United Nations, though her nomination was later withdrawn over concerns about her party’s narrow margins in the House of Representatives. She then began moving towards running for governor.

Stefanik’s decision comes after a dispute with House Speaker Mike Johnson, whom she accused of lying before embarking on a series of media interviews criticizing him. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, she called Johnson a “political novice” and said he would not be re-elected president if the vote were held today.

The tumultuous incident in early December appeared to calm down when Johnson said he and Stefanik had a “great talk.”

“I called her and said, ‘Why don’t you just come to me, you know?'” Johnson said. “So we had some intense fellowship about it.”

However, Stefanik, the head of House Republican leadership, has not fully backed away from her criticism. A December 2 social media post remains online in which Stefanik accused Johnson, after deleting a provision she championed from the defense authorization bill, of falsely claiming he didn’t know about it, calling it “more lies from the Speaker of the House.”

Republican state Chairman Ed Cox said the party respects Stefanik’s decision and thanks her for her efforts.

“Bruce Blakeman has my endorsement and I urge our state committee and party leaders to join me,” Cox said in a prepared statement. “Bruce is a fighter who has proven he knows how to win in difficult political terrain.”

Associated Press writers Stephen Sloan and Joy Cappelletti contributed from Washington.