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Rep. Elise Stefanik will officially launch her long-anticipated campaign for New York governor on Friday, entering the 2026 race as a Republican challenger to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, multiple sources confirmed to Fox News on Thursday.

Stefanik, a top House Republican and one of former President Donald Trump's closest allies, represents a conservative-leaning district in upstate New York and has been weighing a gubernatorial run for months.

"It will be very, very soon and people are very excited," Stefanik said Thursday in an interview on Fox News' "The Story with Martha MacCallum."

"There’s been an outpouring of support from Republicans, Democrats, independents, all across our great state," Stefanik touted. "Many

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