Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik announced Friday she was ending her campaign for New York governor and would retire from the House at the end of her current term.
Stefanik was challenging Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul but had to contend with a primary opponent, with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman entering the race earlier this month.
“I did not come to this decision lightly for our family,” the congresswoman told supporters on social media. “[While] we would have overwhelmingly won this primary, it is not an effective use of our time or your generous resources to spend the first half of next year in an unnecessary and protracted Republican primary, especially in a challenging state like New York.”
