House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., reportedly has been “having conversations” with Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., about running in the New York governor’s race, according to Punchbowl News, but Stefanik immediately denied the report Tuesday.
Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman reported the development in a post on X on Tuesday, writing that if either New York Republican decides to run, “they will have to give up their seat in Congress.”
“My preference is they all stay here with me,” Johnson said, according to Sherman’s post.
Less than 10 minutes later, Stefanik took to X to deny the report, saying, “This is not true.”
“I have had no conversations with the Speaker regarding the Governor’s race,” she wrote. “Looking forward to the conversation about SALT with NY Members tomorrow. Stay tuned.”
Stefanik was referring to raising the SALT (state and local tax deduction) cap, which allows eligible taxpayers to reduce their federal tax liability by deducting certain state and local taxes. Passed during Trump’s first term, the 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act established a SALT cap of $10,000 per year for joint filers and $5,000 per year for single filers.
Earlier this month, Politico reported that Stefanik was considering making a run for New York governor, citing unnamed sources.
That report came shortly after Johnson announced Stefanik as the chair of House Republican leadership for the 119th Congress following President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw her nomination for United Nations ambassador. The president said his decision to rescind Stefanik’s nomination was based on concerns about retaining the GOP’s slim majority in Congress.
Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley said last week that Stefanik would make an “absolutely fantastic” candidate to run against incumbent Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul.
“Kathy Hochul right now is absolutely a wounded governor,” Whatley told NewsNation’s “The Hill.” “She is very, very weak. She is very unpopular across the state, and that state is ready for a change.
“Elise Stefanik is one of several people that are taking a serious look at this race right now. She would be an absolutely fantastic candidate.”
In a statement provided to Newsmax on Tuesday, Johnson said: “I just talked to her. Elise is one of my closest friends, we haven’t specifically talked about her running for governor. We heard about all these other things, and she’s coming in to visit with me.”
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