NY21 — Stefanik party building

First-term U.S. Reps. Abby Finkenauer of Iowa and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of Queens pass muster on two of the three criteria Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, views as key for House candidate recruitment — youthfulness and gender.

But they strike out on a third criteria — political philosophy.

To defeat them, Stefanik, a third-term incumbent representing New York’s 21st District, is backing candidates like them in age and gender, but of a conservative political philosophy.

Stefanik, through her E-PAC political action committee, has contributed $5,000 each to Ashley Hinson, a former television news reporter who is challenging Finkenauer, and $5,000 to Nicole Malliotakis, a state Assemblywoman who is challenging Ocasio-Cortez, according to campaign finance reports on file with the Federal Election Commission.

E-PAC, a separate fund from Stefanik’s re-election campaign fund, had contributed $176,027 this election cycle to Republican women candidates, as of June 30, the most recent report on file.

Other contributions to challengers included $5,000 to Chele Farley, who is challenging incumbent Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney in New York’s 18th District, and Martha McSally, a former congresswoman who is running for an Arizona U.S. Senate seat.

E-PAC contributed $10,000 to the campaign of Joan Perry, a physician who lost a Republican special election primary in North Carolina this summer.

E-PAC also contributed $5,000 to the re-election campaign of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, and $5,000 each to the re-election campaigns of a dozen House Republican incumbents.

Republican incumbents may, if they wish, as usually is the case, then contribute that money to Republican challengers or colleagues in tight races.

Stefanik gains political favor with colleagues, and a reputation as a party booster which could come in handy if, as some national political writers have speculated, she aspires to be in House leadership one day.

There will be lots more political action to come in the election cycle, which still has about 13 months left to run its course.

E-PAC had $273,928 in its coffers, as of June 30, and, no doubt, has raised considerably more since then.

It’s a fund-raising feat that leaves Stefanik open to criticism in her home district, where Democrat Tedra Cobb, a former St. Lawrence County legislator, is making a repeat challenge.

Cobb’s criticism in 2018 that Stefanik was beholden to special interest donors did not seem to make much of an impact, but in politics things can change quickly.

Maury Thompson covered 10 regional congressional races before he retired from The Post-Star in 2017. He still keeps an eye on the 21st Congressional District and occasionally offers his insight.

Click here to read his most recent previous NY21 post.