Roger Simon, Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and author of the Substack “American Refugees,” is confident U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik will win the 2026 New York gubernatorial race against incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul.
Stefanik, who currently represents New York’s 21st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, officially announced her anticipated bid for New York governor on Friday.
Upon launching her bid for governor, Stefanik received a wave of endorsements from New York state legislators and organizations, including the New York City Council Republican Conference, New York State Conservative Party, New York GOP, 34 State Assembly Members, 12 State Senators, 56 Republican County Chairs, and former Governor George Pataki.
Simon, who was born in New York City, said he believes Stefanik will defeat Hochul in next year’s general election as many New Yorkers are fleeing the city for the suburbs, where he expects strong support for Stefanik among voters dissatisfied with urban decline and progressive policies.
“I don’t normally make predictions, but I think [Stefanik] is going to be the next governor in New York,” Simon said on Friday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
“The state of New York is very different from New York City. In fact, people are fleeing New York City now and they’re moving to the suburbs of New York and those people will all be Stefanik voters,” he added.
Simon further argued that New York City Mayor-elect Zorhan Mamdani’s rise and his radical policies will ultimately bolster Stefanik’s chances in the gubernatorial race, saying that Mamdani’s extremism and divisive rhetoric will alienate moderate voters and give Republicans a clear target in the race.
“This is going to sound crazy, but Stefanik’s got Mamdani on her side. What I mean is he is going to screw up so badly that she’s going to have a lot to shoot at,” he explained.
Simon, who is Jewish, went on to interpret Mamdani’s recent victory in the New York City mayoral race as a dangerous sign of ideological extremism, calling him an “Islamo-fascist” whose goals are “imperialistic” and hostile to Jews and Christians.
“He is an Islamo-fascist. That’s what he really is. Their goals are totally imperialistic. They want to take over the world. They don’t want any more Jews and Christians,” he warned.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Image “Elise Stefanik launches campaign” by Elise Stefanik.
