Elise Stefanik says she’s dropping out
This doesn’t seem like good news at all. Stefanik was one of the most prominent Republican House members, known in particular for her sharp questioning of the three Ivy presidents about anti-Semitism, and running for the governorship in New York:
GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik unexpectedly dropped her bid to become New York’s next governor Friday — and also said she would not be seeking re-election for Congress.
The high-profile Republican congresswoman said she wanted to avoid a potentially bruising and costly gubernatorial primary, clearing the way for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman to become front-runner for the party’s nomination.
The jarring move shocked Stefanik’s allies, as the North Country rep had already held the endorsement of almost every one of the 62 county committee chairs and publicly attacked Blakeman immediately after he formally entered the race last week.
She also cited the desire to spend time with her family and particularly her children. But of course that’s the sort of thing politicians always say when they drop out or quit a position. Maybe it’s even true for Stefanik; politics is certainly a dirty, grueling business.
Trump has said:
He’s a friend. She’s a friend. These are two great people running. In a way, I hate to see them running against each other. I hope they’re not going to be damaging each other
Why did Blakeman enter the race to challenge her? That appears to have been the proximate cause of her dropping out, although it wouldn’t explain her decision not to run for the House either. Of course, by running for governor, she already was signaling that she wanted to leave the House. I wonder if she believes the GOP will become the minority in the House, and she doesn’t want to stick around for that? The other thing to remember is that Hochul will probably win against any Republican; New York is that far gone.
Meanwhile, the press blames Trump. What else is new? The NY Times headline says, “Elise Stefanik Tried Everything to Please Trump. He Still Jilted Her” – managing to blame Trump and insult Stefanik in the process, labeling her a scorned lover.
Damn. Just plain DAMN.
I don’t know; perhaps she really is finding that juggling a very young family and these public obligations is hard.
Remember the New York Times covered up the Holocaust, the Holodomor, and Castros Bolshevism.
No credibility.
How many lives could have been saved had the put the Holocaust on the front page?
Turning on a dime like that is odd. Odder is the assumption by combox clowns that she must have some ulterior motive. We have a dear friend employed as a congressional aide. He and his wife lived in Silver Spring Md. He was sometimes detailed to the home state, but not often. He worked in Washington. He retired some years ago, then came out of retirement when they had to help out close family (same old boss). He has a work from home deal, so he’s in DC p/t and at his place of retirement p/t. As for his previous tour in DC, he offered the estimate he worked 3,000 hrs a year, his wife said no it was 4,000. And for all that Congress accomplishes nothing of consequence. I don’t blame her for leaving it.
She accomplished something of consequence in Congress, by helping to bring about the resignations of those college presidents. I don’t think New York State is totally lost: Lee Zeldin lost 53-47 in 2022. Maybe Stefanik is a more polarizing figure, but could have generated more enthusiasm. I don’t see Howard Blakeman winning–I’d never heard of him before he appeared a few weeks ago (and I live in New York). But at the same time I can’t fathom the support for the repulsive Hochul.
In rewards to the recent murders, could it be that she did not want her children growing up motherless?
A commenter at William Jacobson’s “Legal Insurrection” blog said “she has been subjected to death threats and her family has been threatened too”. Infuriating if this had anything to do with her decision.
The NYT is trying to sow discord by suggesting that her withdrawal was due to her getting “jilted” by Trump. All Trump did was refrain from making an endorsement between the two Republican candidates, which is pretty standard behavior. Had Trump endorsed Stefanik, the NYT would have used terms like “interference,” and would have tried to tar Stefanik with groveling to Trump for his support. (In fact, I read somewhere that they were on the verge of writing such an article, and had to change it at the last minute when Trump said he wasn’t making an endorsement.) Damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t, as far as the NYT is concerned.