Beau of The Fifth Column
Let's talk about Stefanik dropping out in NY and leaving congress....
22 Dec 2025
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Well, howdy there, Internet people. It's Belle again. So today, we're going to talk about Stefanik dropping out in New York and leaving Congress. Republican Representative Elise Stefanik announced on Friday that she will be suspending her campaign for New York governor. And in a rare double whammy decision, she will also not seek re-election to Congress.
Chapter 2: What led to Elise Stefanik dropping out of the New York governor race?
The obvious question is why. Stefanik is not well-liked on the Democratic side of the aisle, but until very recently, she seemed to have an incredibly promising career within the Republican Party. Well, when it comes to the New York governor's race, it seemed like she was counting on Trump to put his finger on the scale and endorse her over the other Trump ally running for the office.
Then Trump said, quote, He's great and she's great. They're both great people. That was taken by political analysts as a sign that Trump didn't plan on swaying the race. He was in a position where no matter what, he'd be able to say his ally won the primary. There was no reason for him to jump into the race.
That meant Stefanik was going to have to face a pretty rough primary, running for governor in a state that hasn't elected a Republican in about 20 years.
Chapter 3: Why did Stefanik decide not to seek re-election to Congress?
She said she decided, "...it is not an effective use of our time." Adding that, "...I have thought deeply about this, and I know that as a mother, I will feel profound regret if I don't further focus on my young son's safety, growth, and happiness." particularly at this tender age. Okay, so why not go back to the House?
There were reported underlying tensions with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson for a while. But that all spilled into public view when she publicly accused Johnson of lying and torpedoing the Republican agenda in a social media post that said, quote, Just more lies from the Speaker. And in true to form, the Speaker texted me yesterday, claiming he knew nothing about it. Yeah, right.
This is his preferred tactic to tell members when he gets caught torpedoing the Republican agenda. It wasn't on your radar. This is the only provision in the bill to root out the deep state rot. This is not regular order. Regular order is a member's provision that passed out of committee, should be heard on the floor, and not struck down by a Democrat minority member in a closed-door meeting.
My provision passed out of the House Intelligence Committee, which is the committee of jurisdiction.
Chapter 4: What role did Trump's endorsement play in Stefanik's decision?
You torpedoed this, siding with Jamie Raskin. You said you would fix it, so fix it.
Realistically, it's the modern Republican Party, and they're both loyal to Trump, so this very public spat could have been papered over. But Stefanik isn't new to politics. A post like that is more likely stemming from a culmination of a bunch of things she has come to dislike about the current state of the Republican Party. Or maybe Johnson specifically. Or maybe just politics in general.
But especially D.C. politics. I would imagine we'll see her in the political arena again. But I would be surprised if it's before 2028. Anyway, it's just a thought. Y'all have a good day.