Former top New York Republican announces run for Connecticut governor

The previous right-hand woman to former New York Republican Gov. George Pataki announced on Thursday she is running for Connecticut governor.

In announcing her campaign against Gov. Ned Lamont (D-CT), former New York Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey slammed “Lefty Lamont’s” housing, taxation, and energy policies.

“Today, I’m officially announcing my run for Governor of Connecticut. Our state needs a fighter,” she wrote on X. “If you’re tired of high property taxes, unaffordable electric bills, and jobs moving out of the state, I’ve got solutions for you.”

McCaughey served as Pataki’s understudy for his first term in office, but their relationship fractured as she worked under him. The former New York governor announced about halfway through his term in 1997 that she would not run with him