Elise Stefanik as Donald Trump’s 2024 Running Mate? As former President Donald Trump prepares to host a fundraiser for GOP House Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, a U.S. representative for New York’s 21st congressional district, rumors are circulating that the former commander in chief could be considering her as a running mate in 2024.
The June 6 fundraiser is expected to take place at Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor, New York, and will be the fourth campaign event that the former president has hosted for Stefanik.
Two people familiar with Trump’s considerations for a running mate in a possible 2024 run told CNN that Stefanik is being actively considered. The unnamed sources said that the former president has surveyed close friends and associates on their opinions on Stefanik.
The sources also claim that the former president is actively considering women candidates over male candidates.
“There is a part of Trump who thinks he needs a female VP,” one source said. “He definitely likes her, likely because of how effusive she is to him.”
Chris Ruddy, a friend of the former president, went on public record saying effectively the same thing.
“President Trump thinks very highly of Elise Stefanik…she has been talked about in circles close to him as a potential vice presidential,” he said. “And there’s a feeling among a lot of people on the Republican side that they need to have a woman on the ticket this time.”
Who Is Elise Stefanik?
Rep. Elise Stefanik has represented New York’s 21st congressional district since 2015. She is also the third-ranking House Republican, replacing Liz Cheney in May of last year. Cheney was removed from her position as chair of the House Republican Conference over her repeated attacks on former President Donald Trump and her cooperation with House Speaker Nancy’s Pelosi January 6 committee.
Long considered a Republican moderate, Stefanik now presents herself as an “America First” Republican who advocates the policies and agenda of former President Donald Trump.
Earlier this month, Rep. Stefanik told a press conference that she is “Ultra-MAGA” and “proud of it.”
Stefanik’s credentials, however, are often debated among true supporters of the former president.
Heritage Action for America gave Stefanik a lifetime score of 48% for her voting record on Republican issues. Numbers USA, an advocacy organization that champions limiting immigration, also gives Stefanik a C+ rating for her votes on immigration in Congress – prompting popular MAGA Republican Twitter account “The Columbia Bugle” to brand her “just another America Last RINO.”
If Trump chooses Stefanik for a 2024 run, he should expect a backlash from his own supporters over her record – even if her attitude has shifted in recent months.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
