WASHINGTON -- Elise Stefanik, a former aide to Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., won the endorsement today of Republican committee chairs in the 21st Congressional District.
Elise Stefanik
Stefanik, 29, of Essex County, said she received the overwhelming endorsement from the North Country Republican committee chairs who gathered for a joint meeting in Elizabethtown.
Eleven of the 12-counties in the congressional district were represented at the meeting. All but Jefferson County's committee had already decided who to back in the GOP race. Stefanik said she received 87 percent of the total weighted vote.
"I'm humbled by the endorsement today by the North Country GOP chairs," Stefanik said in a statement this afternoon. "It shows our campaign's message to bring new ideas and new leadership to Washington is resonating throughout Upstate."
The other Republicans seeking the party's designation were Michael Ring, a computer consultant from Jefferson County, and Joseph Gilbert, a Tea Party activist from St. Lawrence County.
Stefanik had been endorsed by former North Country congressional candidate and Tea Party favorite Doug Hoffman, of Saranac Lake.
Stefanik, who worked in the administration of former President George W. Bush, said she "will continue working as hard as I ever have to earn the support of Republicans, Conservatives and Independents across the district to win this seat back."
The House seat will be up for grabs in the November election with the retirement of U.S. Rep. Bill Owens, D-Plattsburgh. Democrats in the district have been searching for their own candidate to run in place of Owens. Democratic chairs said Thursday they will announce their selection within 10 days.
Among those reportedly considering a bid for the Democratic endorsement is Dede Scozzafava, who ran against Owens as a Republican in a 2009 special election. She dropped out of the three-way race with Hoffman on the weekend before the election and endorsed Owens. Scozzafava now works in the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The 21st District covers all of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Warren and Washington counties, and portions of Herkimer and Saratoga counties.
Contact Mark Weiner at mweiner@syracuse.com or 571-970-3751. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWeinerDC