Stefanik raises $3 million in Q1, launches NY Battleground Fund

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) raised $3 million in the first quarter of the year and is launching a new fund aimed at countering Democratic efforts in New York, her campaign announced on Tuesday.

Stefanik, who became the House GOP’s third highest-ranking member in 2021 after Republican lawmakers voted to strip former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) of her leadership post, has emerged as a fundraising powerhouse, bringing in $18 million during the 2022 election cycle. 

She’s now planning to use her political influence to provide critical backing for Republicans in New York after the party made significant gains in the state last year. The GOP flipped control of four House seats in 2022, helping push the party to its current, slim majority in the lower chamber.

Stefanik’s New York Battleground Fund will be geared toward raising money to protect vulnerable Republicans in the state like Reps. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.) and Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.). Republicans are also hoping to go on offense, targeting New York’s Hudson Valley-based 18th District, currently represented by Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.).

The battleground fund will be a split effort with the New York GOP, Stefanik’s campaign said, and will focus on building out a Republican field program in the state and funding get-out-the-vote efforts.

“The fight to save our country and our state will not be easy but I have never been more determined to work my hardest to save our country,” Stefanik said in a statement. “I am grateful for the hundreds of thousands of grassroots donors in Upstate New York and across the country.” 

“We will work our hardest to defeat the Democrats across New York and the country, to protect and expand our House Majority and elect President Trump.”

The program marks an effort to counter a Democratic push to reclaim lost ground in New York. Last month, House Majority PAC (HMP), the main super PAC supporting Democratic House candidates, launched a New York “war room.” The group has committed $45 million to the state in the 2024 election cycle, tripling its spending there from 2022.