With only one caucus under our belts, it’s probably far too early to be wading into the veepstakes when we technically don’t even know who the GOP nominee will be. But, as with pretty much everything associated with Donald Trump, this isn’t a typical primary season, so rumors are already running wild. Trump has said that he’s already made up his mind in terms of his running mate, but he declined to identify the person. That makes sense since it would be a bit premature to do so before he either locks up enough delegates to assure victory or everyone else drops out. But one of the names that is generating the most buzz at the moment is upstate New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik. She was asked about the possibility following her first stump speech as a Trump campaign surrogate yesterday in New Hampshire. If Trump has told her the suspected news, she wasn’t letting the cat out of the bag. But she did say she would be “honored” and “proud” to serve in the Trump administration “in any capacity.” (NY Post)
Upstate Rep. Elise Stefanik made her debut Saturday as a campaign surrogate for Donald Trump 2024, saying she would be “honored” to be his VP — while ripping his rival Nikki Haley as a “non-starter” for the pick.
“He’s going to make the right decision. I trust him to make the right decision for him. So he’s going to look for qualities that he thinks are important,” Stefanik (R-Schuylerville) told reporters at Poor Boy’s Diner in Londonderry, amid speculation that she’s on a short list to be his VP pick. “I’d be proud to serve in a Trump administration in any capacity.”
Haley — who is within seven percentage points of Trump in at least one poll — has also emerged as a possible VP contender, but is the wrong choice because she is “attacking Trump viciously every single day,” Stefanik said.
Stefanik would be an interesting choice for a number of reasons. For one thing, if chosen and elected, she would be the second-youngest person to ever hold the office. Currently 39, she would be 40 when sworn in. (The youngest was John Breckinridge, who was just 36 when he served under Buchanan.) Stefanik’s rise inside the GOP has been rather historic. She was the youngest woman ever elected to Congress when she first took office in 2014 and rose to the position of chair of the House Republican Conference in just seven years.
In the interest of transparency, I will disclose that while I’ve never voted for Stefanik (I don’t live in her district), I have contributed to her campaigns. Our family also owns a summer camp in her district, so I keep tabs on her career. I’ve always found her impressive and she’s been a tireless campaigner working to bring jobs and development opportunities to her district.
Does she have “the right stuff” to serve as the Vice President? Why not? After all, we’re talking about the office that John Garner once described as not being worth “a bucket of warm spit.” The Veep’s duties tend to be more limited and ceremonial in nature, often involving weddings and funerals that the President can’t make time to attend. But I’m also certain that she would make one hell of a lot better border czar than Kamala Harris ever could be. She probably has a far better grasp of Artificial Intelligence issues as well.
One of the only arguments against Stefanik for Veep would be geographical in nature. Traditionally, presidential candidates have picked veeps that might swing them some extra votes in their home state. Donald Trump would very much like to put New York in play this November, primarily because it’s almost mathematically impossible for the Democrats to win the White House without it. But despite Lee Zeldin giving Kathy Hochul a spirited run for the money in the 2022 gubernatorial election, I don’t know any serious political analysts who see New York being in play this November no matter who Trump picks as his running mate.
With that said, four years in office as Vice President could seriously grease the skids for Stefanik as a 2028 presidential contender. She’s about as conservative as a person can get and still be elected in New York, even in the more rural upstate region she represents. Were that to happen, she would be the third youngest person ever elected President as well as the first female. I’m sure I’m getting very far ahead of myself at this point, but there is no question that she has been building a remarkable career for herself quite quickly and should have many good years to come.
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