☰
HomeLiving Beyond BordersGZERO WorldSignalIn 60 SecondsPuppet RegimeGZERO World PodcastContact UsAbout UsCareersPrivacy PolicyTerms

New York governor race bursts into life

May 01, 2025
Zac Weisz
Elise Stefanik speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on February 22, 2025.
Elise Stefanik speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on February 22, 2025.
Zach D Roberts/NurPhoto via Reuters

The New York governor’s election might be over a year away, but the Republican primary race is already heating up as one ambitious, ex-moderate, pro-Trump New Yorker faces another.

Split the difference. In today’s GOP, even the moderates in the party are staunchly behind President Donald Trump. Both Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), two top candidatesweighing a New York governor run, were moderates when they were elected to the US House – former President Joe Biden even tacitly endorsed Lawler in 2023. The tables have since turned.

Speaking of the United Nations. Trump had picked Stefanik to be the US ambassador to the United Nations, a position that Nikki Haley had during the president’s first term. The Adirondacks congresswoman had even begun her farewell tour, but the president pulled her nomination amid concerns about losing seats in special House elections. Trump has now plucked National Security Adviser Michael Waltz to hold the role.

Who’s out in front? Stefanik, the House Republican Conference chair, leads Lawler by a country mile in the primary, 44%-7%, per an internal poll from the GOP-aligned firm GrayHouse. Still, it is early, and 44% of those surveyed were undecided. Stefanik, who has served in the House for over a decade, has built a far greater following than the Hudson Valley congressman, who is only starting his third year in office, so it’s no surprise that she has a cavernous head start.

A win-win. Stefanik may be taking a risk by relinquishing her leadership position in the House to run statewide in a liberal-leaning state, but her predecessor showed that she can taste some victory even in defeat. Lee Zeldin, the GOP governor nominee in 2022, lost the race by just six points, and his performance was credited with helping to lift candidatesdown the ballot. Now, Zeldin is a member of Trump’s Cabinet, leading the Environmental Protection Agency.

Dems seek Hochul’s head. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’sapproval ratings have been in the dumps, which could create a genuine opening for Stefanik to win. Hochul’s first challenge, though, will be getting past the primary: She will likely facechallenges from Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado and Rep. Ritchie Torres.

Mark your calendars. Both primaries are likely going to be scheduled for June 23, 2026.

More from GZERO Media

Microsoft’s Environmental Sustainability Report 2025

Microsoft

Five years ago, Microsoft set bold 2030 sustainability goals: to become carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste—all while protecting ecosystems. That commitment remains—but the world has changed, technology has evolved, and the urgency of the climate crisis has only grown. This summer, Microsoft launched the 2025 Environmental Sustainability Report, offering a comprehensive look at the journey so far, and how Microsoft plans to accelerate progress. You can read the report here.

Hard Numbers: Armenia reaffirms ties with Iran, Congo and M23 rebels miss peace deadline, Lesotho looks for new markets, and Trump takes aim at mail-in ballots

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian shake hands as they meet with the media to make a joint statement following their talks in Yerevan, Armenia, August 19, 2025.
Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure via REUTERS

$3 billion: Armenia and Iran pledged to triple bilateral trade to $3 billion this week, just days after Yerevan inked a US-brokered peace deal with Azerbaijan.

Three months since the Kashmir conflict: Is it Pakistan’s moment?

An Indian paramilitary soldier guards a road during India's 79th Independence Day celebrations in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, on August 15, 2025. Prime Minister Narendra Modi issues a stern warning to Pakistan, stating that India will not tolerate nuclear blackmail anymore and will give a befitting reply to the enemy. He asserts that India has now set a ''new normal'' of not differentiating between terrorists and those who nurture terrorism.
Photo by Firdous Nazir/NurPhoto

For four days in May, two nuclear rivals stood at the brink of a potentially catastrophic escalation, one that could impact a fifth of the world’s population.

Hard Numbers: Bolivia’s left-wing streak ends, small boats continue sailing to the UK, Canadians strike, Africa wants to put its real size on the map

People celebrate after early official results show Bolivian presidential candidate Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga of the conservative Alianza Libre coalition in second place, and as the ruling party Movement for Socialism (MAS) was on track to suffer its worst electoral defeat in a generation, in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, August 17, 2025.
REUTERS/Ipa Ibanez

20: The centrist Rodrigo Paz and the conservative Jorge Quiroga advanced to Bolivia’s presidential runoff election after winning the most votes in Sunday’s first round, ensuring that a left-wing politician won’t occupy the country’s presidency for the first time in 20 years.

In Sudan, the skies have turned deadly

Enaam Abdallah Mohammed, 19, a displaced Sudanese woman and mother of four, who fled with her family, looks on inside a camp shelter amid the ongoing conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army, in Tawila, North Darfur, Sudan July 30, 2025.
REUTERS
About UsCareers PressContact Us Privacy PolicyTerms of Use
© 2025 GZERO Media. All Rights Reserved | A Eurasia Group media company.