President Trump praised Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and endorsed his campaign for reelection next year in a social media post on Wednesday — a potential boon to the GOP congressman as Democrats target his swing district in the midterm election cycle.
But Trump’s pronouncement also comes as Lawler, who has been in the House since 2023, is considering a run for New York governor next year.
“Congressman Mike Lawler is a Strong Champion, and Highly Effective Representative, for the Great People of New York’s 17th Congressional District!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Congressman Lawler is grateful for the President’s support and appreciates his commitment towards addressing issues important to New York,” his campaign said in a statement to The Hill on Wednesday.
“As Congressman Lawler has said repeatedly, he will make a decision on running for Governor in June.”
Lawler told FOX 5 NY on April 28 that his decision will ultimately boil down to whether he thinks the gubernatorial race is winnable in a state that’s elected only Democratic governors for nearly two decades.
“We’re going through this process of evaluating the state and the data and to see whether or not there’s a real pathway,” he said. “I’m not interested in going on a kamikaze mission, you know. If I do it, it’s going to be because I believe there’s a pathway to win.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), who became governor in 2021 after the resignation of then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), defeated GOP nominee Lee Zeldin in 2022 to keep the office at least through 2026. She is running for reelection and seen as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination.
Several Republicans, including Lawler, have expressed interest in the race, particularly after the Hochul-Zeldin match-up three years ago became the state’s closest gubernatorial contest in decades.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who Trump recently described as one of his “biggest allies,” said in a Fox News interview Sunday that she’s “strongly considering” a run for governor, after her nomination to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations fell through earlier this year.
“Absolutely, I am strongly considering, because look at the crises that Kathy Hochul and single-party Democrat rule have delivered to New Yorkers,” she said. “I’m taking a hard look at it, and the outpouring of support has been tremendous.”
Stefanik’s retreat back to the House, and her usually safe Republican district, was a sign of GOP jitters heading into the mid-terms, when its already razor-thin majority will put enormous importance on a handful of swing districts.
Both Lawler and Stefanik’s seats could become more vulnerable to flipping Democratic if the incumbents opt to run for governor instead of Congress.
Trump, a native New Yorker who saw a large swing in his favor there in the 2024 election despite losing the state, also endorsed Long Island Republican Bruce Blakeman, for reelection to his current post as Nassau County executive on Wednesday.
Blakeman too is said to be mulling a run for governor.
