Could this top Trump ally break Republican's 2-decade losing streak in this key state?

EXCLUSIVE: STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, headlining a local GOP fundraising dinner in this MAGA stronghold in Democrat-dominated New York City, sent a likely hint of things to come.

"Are we ready to fire Kathy Hochul next year?" said the six-term congresswoman from a largely rural, red-leaning district in Upstate New York, drawing loud cheers at the Staten Island GOP’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner.

Hochul, blue-state New York's Democrat governor, is running for re-election next year for a second four-year term.

And Stefanik, who is a member of the House GOP's leadership, is the most high-profile Republican to seriously consider taking on Hochul in the 2026 elections.

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Pointing to next year's battle, Stefanik said the eventual GOP nominee taking on Hochul "needs to be the toughest fighter, who has taken on the media, who has taken on the radical left, who has taken on the naysayers, and who is a proven winner."

It sounded like Stefanik, who early in her congressional tenure was seen as an establishment Republican but who has become a top ally of President Donald Trump and a MAGA champion, was talking about herself.

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Stefanik, in a national exclusive interview with Fox News Digital ahead of her appearance at the Staten Island GOP event, said she's "proud to be" one of Trump's top supporters in the House.

"I stepped up to deliver President Trump's agenda that is unleashing American energy [independence], securing the border, cutting taxes for New Yorkers, specifically the state and local tax deduction," she touted. 

"I am very close to President Trump. I chaired his campaign in New York. I was the first Republican member to endorse him."

Stefanik highlighted that she and the president "talk about a lot of different things. He's paying close attention to New York. He knows that New York state needs new leadership, strong Republican leadership."

And Stefanik said she "would be honored to have his support" if she pulls the trigger and launches a 2026 Republican gubernatorial campaign in the Empire State.

It's been 23 years since a Republican won a gubernatorial election in heavily blue New York. You have to go all the way back to former Gov. George Pataki's second re-election victory in 2002.

But Hochul will likely face a very competitive re-election.

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Hochul was the state’s lieutenant governor when, in August 2021, she was sworn in as New York’s first female governor after three-term Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned in disgrace amid multiple scandals.

She defeated then-Rep. Lee Zeldin by just over six points in 2022 to win a full four-year term. But Zeldin's showing was the best by a Republican gubernatorial nominee since Pataki won re-election to a third term in 2002.

Meanwhile, Trump, who lost New York by 23 points in the 2020 presidential election, trimmed his deficit by 10 points last November.

While Hochul's approval ratings in a recent Siena College poll were holding slightly in positive territory, the survey indicated a majority of New Yorkers would still prefer someone else to win the 2026 election for governor of the Empire State.

According to the poll, which was conducted May 12-15, 36% of registered voters in New York state said they would vote to re-elect Hochul to a second four-year term, with a majority (55%) saying they wanted someone else. 

Stefanik, in her Fox News Digital interview, reiterated her argument that Hochul is "the worst governor in America."

And she highlighted that "we need a candidate who will speak and reach out to New Yorkers of all political stripes. I've done that in my congressional district. When I first ran for Congress, I was the underdog. No one in my family is political. I grew up in a small-business family. I flipped a district from Democrat to Republican, and we've won it by double digits ever since."

If she decides to launch a gubernatorial campaign, Stefanik may not have the GOP primary to herself.

Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who's in his second term representing a key swing congressional district that covers a large swath of New York City's northern suburbs, is mulling a 2026 GOP run for governor.

"I think Kathy Hochul is the most feckless, incompetent governor in America," Lawler said in a Fox News Digital interview in April.

Lawler has said that he'll make a decision on whether to run for governor or for re-election this month.

But Trump last month endorsed Lawler for re-election, a likely sign that the president would rather have the congressman seek re-election as the House GOP fights to protect its razor-thin majority in the chamber rather than seek the governor's office.

Another Trump supporter, Nassau County executive Bruce Blakeman, has also mulled a run for governor.

Asked about a potential GOP primary for governor, Stefanik said, "I think Republicans will work it out. We know how important it is to unify again."

"I work very well with all of my colleagues, including those who are considering, but I think we’ll work it out on the Republican side," she added.

But the Democratic Governor's Association (DGA), in a memo, argued, "The Republican nomination in New York will be decided by one person: Donald Trump."

And the DGA argued that the GOP race "has already grown fractious and messy."

Stefanik was interviewed about an hour after news broke that Hochul would face a primary challenge from her own lieutenant governor.

New York Lt. Gov. Anthonio Delgado on Monday announced his bid to try and oust his boss as the Democrats' nominee in next year's election in a rare move by a lieutenant governor to primary challenge a sitting incumbent.

Delgado, in a video announcing his candidacy, took a jab at his boss, saying, "What we need right here in New York is bold, decisive, transformational leadership."

Recent polls indicate that Hochul enjoys a wide lead over Delgado and Rep. Richie Torres, who's also mulling a primary challenge, in the Democrat gubernatorial nomination race.

The DGA praised Hochul in a statement after Delgado's announcement.

"Governor Kathy Hochul is a proven leader with a strong record of delivering for New Yorkers: The Democratic Governors Association is 100 percent behind Governor Hochul as she continues to deliver for New York, take on Donald Trump, and build the operation it will take to beat Republicans up and down the ballot in 2026," DGA executive director Meghan Meehan-Draper wrote.

But Stefanik said the news of the primary challenge backed up her arguments.

"I dubbed Kathy Hochul the worst governor in America because it’s true. It’s not just Republicans. It’s independent and Democrat voters as well across this state who understand that she has failed, she has delivered catastrophic failed policies in New York," Stefanik said.

And Stefanik added that "this is her hand-picked lieutenant governor that she chose that is now primarying Kathy Hochul, and it is because she failed at her job."

Asked if the news would push her closer to running for governor, Stefanik said, "I am taking a close look. It’s why I’m crisscrossing the state. I am on Staten Island today … I’ll be in Erie County, Suffolk County, Albany County, New York City. I’ve been all over the place and that will continue."

"I will be making my decision over the coming months," she added.