George Elmer Pataki (born June 24, 1945) is the former 53rd governor of New York. As of 2020, Pataki is the most recent Republican to hold any statewide office in New York. In 2015, he considered running for President, but dropped out.
As governor, Pataki signed the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act into law, signed a bill to expand benefits for 9/11 first responders, created healthcare programs for the poorest inhabitants of the state and launched two programs to distribute the descriptions of wanted criminals throughout the state. He has also been praised for his many environmental programs by Bloomberg Businessweek and The New York Times.