Elise Marie Stefanik born July 2, 1984 is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York’s 21st congressional district. As chair of the House Republican Conference since 2021, she is the fourth-ranking House Republican. Stefanik’s district covers most of the North Country and the Adirondack Mountains, some of the outer suburbs of Utica and the Capital District in New York. In addition to being the first woman to occupy her House seat, Stefanik was 30 when first elected to the House in 2014, making her the youngest woman elected to Congress at the time.
Elise Stefanik Facts
- Born : Elise Marie StefanikJuly 2, 1984 (age 39)Albany, New York, U.S.
- Political party : Republican
- Spouse : Matthew Manda
- Children: 1
- Education : Harvard University
Elise Stefanik Early life and education
Stefanik was born in Albany, New York, on July 2, 1984 to Melanie and Kenneth Stefanik.Her father is of Czechoslovakian ancestry, and her mother is of Italian ancestry.Her parents own Premium Plywood Products, a wholesale plywood distributor based in Guilderland Center.
In October 1998, when she was 14, Stefanik was featured in a Times Union profile about U.S. Senator Al D’Amato. In the article she is quoted saying, “I support the Republican view, especially his”.Stefanik worked in Washington for six years before entering politics. According to Stefanik, she first considered a career in public service and policy in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks
Stefanik graduated from the Albany Academy for Girls and enrolled at Harvard College, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in government in 2006. She was elected vice president of the Harvard Institute of Politics in 2004t Harvard, she received an honorable mention for the Women’s Leadership Award, an endowed student award for leadership and contributing toward the advancement of women.
Elise Stefanik Early career and personal life
After graduating from Harvard, she joined the George W. Bush administration as a staff member for the U.S. Domestic Policy CouncilStefanik later worked in the office of Joshua Bolten, the White House Chief of Staff.[16] In 2009, she founded the blog American Maggie, a platform to promote the views of “conservative and Republican women”, named after British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Stefanik helped prepare the Republican platform in 2012, served as director of new media for Tim Pawlenty’s presidential exploratory committee and worked at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and Foreign Policy Initiative.She managed Representative Paul Ryan’s debate preparation for the 2012 presidential debatesAfter Mitt Romney and Ryan lost the 2012 presidential election, she returned to upstate New York and joined her parents’ business.
After the 2012 election, Stefanik bought a home in Willsboro, near Plattsburgh. Her parents had owned a vacation home in Willsboro for many years.By April 2014, she owned a minority interest in a townhouse near Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., valued at $1.3 million
On August 19, 2017, in Saratoga Springs, New York, Stefanik married Matthew Manda, who works in marketing and communications.In December 2018, Stefanik and Manda moved to Schuylerville, near Saratoga Springs. As of 2022, Manda works as the manager of public affairs for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade association for firearms manufacturers. Their first child was born in 2021.Stefanik is a Roman Catholic.
Elise Stefanik U.S. House of Representatives
Stefanik Main article: 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in New York § District 21
Stefanik’s freshman portrait during the 114th Congress
In August 2013, Stefanik declared her candidacy in the 2014 election for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York’s 21st congressional districtThe district had been in Republican hands for 100 years, before Democrat Bill Owens was elected to represent it in a 2009 special election.In January 2014, Owens announced that he would not seek reelection. Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party nominee in 2009, endorsed Stefanik
Stefanik defeated Matt Doheny in the 2014 Republican primary election, 61% to 39%.She faced Aaron Woolf, the Democratic Party nominee, and Matt Funiciello, the Green Party nominee, in the November 4 general election. Stefanik won with 55% of the vote to their 34% and 11%, respectively. At age 30, she became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress at the time.
2016
Stefanik Main article: 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in New York § District 21
Stefanik ran for reelection in 2016. She became increasingly supportive of Donald Trump’s candidacy for president after he won the 2016 Republican Party presidential primary.Stefanik said that Trump’s crude remarks in the Access Hollywood tape were “wrong” but continued to endorse him.
Stefanik faced Democratic nominee Mike Derrick and Green Party nominee Matt Funiciello in the general election. She won with 66% of the vote to Derrick’s 29% and Funiciello’s 5%
Elise Stefanik Political positions
Stefanik was ranked the 19th-most bipartisan House member during the first session of the 115th United States Congress by the Bipartisan Index. Stefanik The conservative advocacy group Heritage Action gave her a lifetime score of 48%, but an 84% score since the 117th Congress began in January 2021, compared to an average of 95% among House Republicans during that session.The American Conservative Union gave Stefanik a lifetime rating of 44%. The conservative Club for Growth gave her a lifetime rating of 35%, lower than Squad member Ilhan Omar’s.
Elise Stefanik Defense
In a July 2015 Washington Times profile, Jacqueline Klimas noted that Stefanik was the only freshman on that year’s conference committee for the defense policy bill, a position accorded to her “because of
Stefanik her extensive experience in foreign policy—working in the George W. Bush administration, prepping Rep. Paul Ryan for his vice presidential debates, and listening to commanders at Fort Drum in her home district”. Jack Collens, a political science professor at Siena College, told Klimas that Stefanik’s prize committee position signaled that party leaders wanted Stefanik to be part of “the next generation of Republican leaders”