President Trump with Elise Stefanik, his nominee for United Nations ambassador – photo via Stefanik on TwitterGOP Congresswoman Elise Stefanik announced her departure from the 2026 New York gubernatorial election on Friday to avoid an “unnecessary and protracted Republican primary,” she said in a statement. She also said she will not seek reelection to Congress.In addition to avoiding a primary election, Stefanik reasoned that her family is more important than being a politician. “I have thought deeply about this and I know that as a mother, I will feel profound regret if I don’t further focus on my young son’s safety, growth, and happiness – particularly at his tender age,” Stefanik said.As The Gateway Pundit reported, Stefanik announced her candidacy with a dramatic campaign video, highlighting the failed policies of the “worst governor in America,” current Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, and laying out her vision to “Make New York Affordable and Safe.”JUST IN: “Hochul is the Worst Governor in America” – Elise Stefanik Launches Gubernatorial Bid with Stirring Campaign Video, Vows to “Clean Up Kathy Hochul’s Catastrophe” (VIDEO)/*! This file is auto-generated */!function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i