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I teach law and politics, was mostly raised in #NY21, and occupy some similar circles as the talented @RepEliseStefanik, so stories this past week about her rise in the House GOP have certainly kept me interested. Thread. 1/
I particularly want to address much of the narrative in the national media about Stefanik that is either incorrect, incomplete, or both. This is meant to provide information for those in the NYC and DC policy world newly interested in Stefanik. 2/
I have one foot in the NYC/DC policy worlds and then my other foot in #NY21 because I was raised there and return often, so hopefully that perspective helps national media newly interested in her, adding to some of what @BrianMannADK has said /3
@GioRussonello @RuthMarcus @pkcapitol @chrislhayes @henryolsenEPPC @MZanona @allymutnick @annagronewold @DaviSusan /4
The national narrative about Stefanik is basically the same as for some other Republicans: they were great until Trump made them be bad. Trump is the cause of bad things, not the effect of them; he is the disease, not the symptom of it. /5
This is not quite right when it comes to Stefanik. /6
First, #NY21 did not “used to be a Democratic strongehold” before Stefanik, as some media reports. It leaned Republican. When Democrat won seat in Congress in 2009, for most voters in #NY21 it was the first time represented by a Democrat since the 19th century /7
Here is local NPR coverage about how Republican the district had been before 2009 Owens win:
https://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/14662/20091103/top-story-plattsburgh-democrat-bill-owens-scores-historic-upset-in-23rd /8
https://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/14662/20091103/top-story-plattsburgh-democrat-bill-owens-scores-historic-upset-in-23rd /8
#NY21 has been one of the most bipartisan districts in the country and has remained so. If you add up local/state/federal election results and voting behavior by elected officials, it is very bipartisan. Even now after Trump. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-north-country-differe_b_4805186 /9
This is mostly because candidates, staffers, media, and donors have remained largely local figures who are neighbors who not just compete politically but must live together personally. That has changed in #NY21 like it has everywhere. /10
Stefanik came on the scene in 2014 (before Trump) and was polarizing locally because she was not really from or connected to #NY21. Some local Republicans did not support her in 2014 for that reason, mostly just privately. https://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/24896/20140520/ny21-is-elise-stefanik-a-fresh-new-voice-or-a-carpetbagger /11
Stefanik faced a strong primary opponents in 2014 in Matt Doheny, and some prominent local Republicans privately supported Doheny. There is scant polling in #NY21 but it did suggest Doheny was getting more moderate Republican support. /12
The Koch brothers and others came in big locally for Stefanik in the primary, and that plus more local knowledge of Doheny (who ran several times previously) probably pushed some support away from Stefanik, who ran a strong campaign. /13
In the days before the primary election, I got emails and texts from local Republicans (some long-time friends and some I never met) so concerned that Stefanik would put national ambition before #NY21 that they asked me to write something anti-Stefanik and pro-Doheny. /14
I didn't know either well enough personally to do so and therefore declined, but it should give you a sense of how things were in 2014. /15
Stefanik definitely IS bipartisan in her voting by today’s standards, but is not compared to Republicans who represented the district in Congress or state legislature in the past, who were much more bipartisan. https://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-opinion/article/A-partisan-bipartisan-6678029.php
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The interest in Stefanik is because she is a compelling figure, because of the interest in Trump, and so on. There is an equally important national angle to this story though. /17
Congressional districts without tons of economic or political resources within them are increasingly being taken over by geographically distant and different forces, causing many problems in our politics.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-problem-with-bigger-m_b_5536521/18 /18
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-problem-with-bigger-m_b_5536521/18 /18
I have written about this in my academic work https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3008378 /19
This is why a coalition of Republicans and Democrats and I have been working together to get laws passed regulating how much candidates and money can be from out of district/state https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2017/08/the-thompson-v-hebdon-lawsuit-challenges-alaskas-limits-on-out-of-state-campaign-contributions.html /20
As an active writer in the national media, a final plea: let's please just get the facts right when we comment on places outside of the media markets. I have received messages from people on left in #NY21 complaining that national media is making Stefanik sound too good. /21
I have received messages from people on right in #NY21 saying national media getting so much wrong about Stefanik factually that they are looking pretty bad. It doesn't help that Twitter wrongly suspended her aide's account. https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/06/stefanik-bashes-twitter-account-suspension-485526 /22
