President Trump seems to be making an effort to avoid a messy primary fight among New York Republicans in the race for governor next year. On Tuesday night, the president endorsed two Republicans who are angling for gubernatorial runs in 20216. The endorsements, however, were for the two men to keep their current jobs. 

Although no major official has launched a campaign, the top-tier candidates in the shadow Republican primary for governor at this moment are Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, Congressman Mike Lawler, and the Nassau County executive, Bruce Blakeman. 

Mr. Lawler was widely seen as the favorite to win the Republican primary, until it was reported that Ms. Stefanik was considering a run for governor herself after her nomination for United Nations ambassador was suddenly pulled due to GOP fears about their slim House majority. 

Mr. Trump is now not-so-subtly saying that Messrs. Lawler and Blakeman should both stay where they are. 

The president said in a Truth Social post on Tuesday night that he was offering his “Complete and Total Endorsement” to Mr. Blakeman, who is running for a second term as county executive. He will be on the ballot again this fall. 

The endorsement did not seem out of the ordinary, given that Mr. Blakeman is on the ballot this year, and the president has been on a tear endorsing purple district Republicans in recent weeks in order to scare off any potential primary challengers. Mr. Blakeman won his first term as county executive in 2021 by a mere 0.7 percent. 

It became interesting when Mr. Trump fired off another Truth Social post to endorse Mr. Lawler for another term representing New York’s 17th District in Congress — one of the few districts represented by a Republican in the House, despite being won by Vice President Harris last year. 

The palace intrigue became even more obvious when the president offered no other endorsements on Tuesday night. Only Messrs. Lawler and Blakeman — the two GOP officials likely to run for governor — won Mr. Trump’s backing in social media posts on Tuesday. 

A top New York GOP source recently told the Sun that Ms. Stefanik was taking a serious look at running for governor next year after considering a campaign in 2022. Governor Hochul’s approval rating is one of the lowest in the nation, and she herself is at risk of losing a primary challenge. 

Mr. Lawler is so far the only New York House member to get a Trump 2026 endorsement. That the president has yet to offer any kind of support to Ms. Stefanik for a potential 2026 re-election could be a gentle — if un-subtle — reminder to fellow Republicans that she would be the odds-on favorite to win the Republican nomination should she run for governor, especially with Mr. Trump’s backing. 

According to a recent poll from the firm GrayHouse, Ms. Hochul leads Ms. Stefanik by six points in the general election — 46 percent to 40 percent — with 14 percent of voters undecided.