Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., said Monday to Newsmax she would be "the only check on [New York City Mayor-elect] Zohran Mamdani" if elected New York's next governor.
She warned that incumbent Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul has "bent the knee" to Mamdani's radical agenda.
Appearing on "National Report," the Republican gubernatorial candidate accused Hochul of surrendering to progressive lawmakers like Mamdani, whom she called "a socialist" and "an antisemite."
Stefanik argued that Hochul's leadership has made New York more dangerous, less affordable, and less tolerant.
"I am running to save New York," Stefanik declared. "We're the most unaffordable state in the nation, and we are one of the most unsafe — and that's because of Kathy Hochul's failed rule."
Stefanik criticized Hochul's economic and public safety record, pointing to rising taxes, utility costs, and crime rates under Democrat control.
"We are the highest tax state in the nation, the highest energy prices, utility prices, groceries, rent, insurance — and it's because of the failed tax-and-spend policies coming out of Albany and, frankly, New York City," she said.
She drew a sharp contrast between herself and the current governor on both taxes and values.
"I'm the only candidate who has a record of delivering tax cuts," Stefanik said, citing her work in Congress with President Donald Trump to raise the state and local tax deduction. "That was the largest middle-class tax cut for New Yorkers."
But Stefanik's strongest words were reserved for Hochul's handling of antisemitism and her relationship with Mamdani.
Mamdani, she said, "believes Israel does not have a right to exist" and "has campaigned with the unindicted coconspirator of the World Trade Center 1993 bombing."
The Queens assemblyman, who is an avowed democratic socialist, won the New York City mayoral race last Tuesday, defeating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent, and Republican challenger Curtis Sliwa.
"This is someone whose ideology is antisemitic," Stefanik said.
"And Kathy Hochul did nothing. She did nothing to protect Jewish students," added Stefanik. "I'm going to stand up for all Jewish New Yorkers."
Stefanik noted her own record in Congress leading hearings that exposed antisemitism on college campuses, including at Harvard, MIT, and Columbia.
"It set off an earthquake in higher education," she said. "That's leadership — and that's what's missing in Albany."
Framing the upcoming election as a choice between strength and submission, Stefanik said voters are ready for a governor who will "put New Yorkers first."
"I would be the only check on Zohran Mamdani," she said, "because, ultimately, Kathy Hochul will bend the knee — just like she endorsed him."
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