Although one of this cycle’s most unusual Republican primaries is over, the feud and proxy war behind it will just relocate from upstate New York to the halls of Congress.
The rift between Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the third highest ranking House Republican, and her nemesis, New York State Republican Committee Chairman Nick Langworthy, began months ago. Back when Stefanik was the subject of buzz in GOP circles as a potential challenger to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2021, Langworthy backed Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), now the nominee, without consulting her.
With her heightened national profile, Stefanik felt slighted by Langworthy overlooking her, a longtime New York GOP operative familiar with both camps explained.
“Stefanik is obviously not a big fan of Langworthy,” the operative, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive conversations within the party, told The Daily Beast. “She thought that Lee Zeldin conspired or worked with Langworthy for this endorsement.”
So when Langworthy decided to run for Congress for the seat left open by retired Rep. Tom Reed, Stefanik returned the favor by endorsing Buffalo businessman Carl Paladino before Langworthy officially announced, bringing the simmering feud into public view.
“She was sending up a flare like, hey, FYI, if you get in, I’m gonna be behind Carl,” a Republican campaign veteran familiar with the tiff told the Beast. “This is just the end of one chapter in this Langworthy-Stefanik brawl, at least I think. And it will only amplify if Lee doesn’t get it over the finish line in November.”
Just a week before Langworthy officially entered the race, Stefanik tweeted out a “MAJOR NY ENDORSEMENT” of Paladino, the 2010 Republican gubernatorial nominee in New York and steadfast MAGA fan with a history of racist remarks and forwarding bestiality porn to local lawmakers.
Stefanik’s endorsement of the Buffalo businessman, long known to be a liability on the campaign trail, tested the limits of her influence in her home state compared to Capitol Hill, where she ascended to leadership earlier this year. Stefanik replaced GOP Rep. Liz Cheney (WY), who was booted from the position following her refusal to back Trump’s fraudulent claims of election rigging and a host of other unforgivable sins against the current House Republican leadership.
“I believe Stefanik got pissed off last year when this process went, and she thought that Langworthy was just pushing through Zeldin, which he was not … ,” the New York operative close to the pair of rivals said. “Honestly, I think [Langworthy] was pumping his own chest, trying to be like, I’m the guy, I’m the big kingmaker.”
Langworthy also did not dispel rumors of a rift, according to the party insider.
Paladino fell just short of defeating Langworthy, but along the way racked up yet another series of gaffes that would have made many other prominent politicians head for the exits. Not Stefanik.
“This is just the end of one chapter in this Langworthy-Stefanik brawl.”
Even when audio emerged in June from a 2021 radio call-in where the longtime Trump ally called Adolf Hitler “a doer” and “the kind of leader we need today” — which the candidate later apologized for — Stefanik stuck by him, putting herself at the center of a power struggle within the New York GOP.
“Each time, Elise stood up and swung for Carl,” a source close to Trump told The Daily Beast. “It was beyond expectations. Carl comes to the campaign without a filter — he has more experience than he used to have, but he still doesn’t have a filter.”
She also lent at least two of her campaign consultants to the Paladino campaign and provided “strategic” input, the Trump confidant added.
Less than a week before the primary, Paladino speculated that Attorney General Merrick Garland “probably should be executed” for the raid on Mar-a-Lago, according to the Buffalo News.
While Paladino hadn’t conceded as of…
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