Breaking: Stefanik lashes out at local GOP leader

Clinton County chairwoman: Everything she says "is a lie"

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Congresswoman Elise Stefanik posted Tuesday on Facebook a statement that called Clinton County’s Republican Party Chairwoman Jerika Manning incompetent, selfish and inexperienced and said Manning “is threatening to tank the 115th Assembly District for Republicans.”

In response, Manning said, “Everything she put I have ample evidence is a lie.”

Manning said she was “on the road” when reached late Tuesday afternoon and had not spoken with Stefanik.

Jerika Manning, second from left, is the Clinton County GOP chairwoman and is now running for county clerk.

At about 5:30 Tuesday evening, Manning posted on Facebook, calling Stefanik’s statement “false and politically motivated” and “nothing more than an attempt at election interference.”

Stefanik, who was nominated by President Donald Trump as U.N. ambassador only to have her nomination withdrawn in March, was reportedly angry that various county GOP chairpersons had begun to vet candidates for a special election during the months it appeared she was leaving.

A May Times Union article by staff writer Lucy Hodgman detailed the “disarray” among party leaders around the 21st District, as some moved ahead to find a special election candidate and some advocated waiting until Stefanik was confirmed to the U.N. post.

A faction of the 15 county GOP leaders in the district gravitated toward Liz Joy, who is originally from Glens Falls, but Stefanik’s team rejected her, according to Hodgman’s reporting.

Manning was quoted in that article, advocating for unity among the country chairpersons.

“It is clear she has lost the confidence of elected Republican officials, committee members, and most importantly voters. I am not going to let her torpedo Republican candidates in the North Country,” Stefanik’s post says of Manning, without making clear which North Country candidates she is talking about.

Elise Stefanik at an event last month.

“Our New York State Constitution and election law are clear: in a special election, it is the role and responsibility of the duly elected party chairs to select the nominee for their party. This process exists to ensure fairness, consistency, and the integrity of the ballot—not to allow personal agendas or political vendettas to dictate the outcome,” Manning said in her statement.

“Over the past decade, we have worked tirelessly to swing Clinton County Republican and we will not let a selfishly divisive Chair destroy those efforts and drag down Republican candidates which hurts the voters foremost,” Stefanik posted.

“As Clinton County Republican Chair, my duty is to uphold the law, protect the voice of our local Republican members, and ensure that every voter has a fair process they can trust. I will not be intimidated into abdicating my responsibilities because certain individuals would rather bypass the rules for their own political gain,” Manning wrote.

Tim McNulty, Warren County GOP chairman, reached Tuesday evening at SPAC, said he had received two emails about the post but hadn’t read it and wouldn’t comment on it until Wednesday.

A message left Tuesday for Dan Stec with one of his aides was not returned Tuesday evening.

Stefanik appears to be aping the political bullying of Donald Trump, attempting to exact revenge on people with the temerity to do their jobs properly instead of the way she wants them done.

It may be that upstate New York has less tolerance for frothing-at-the-mouth attacks of this sort than Washington, D.C. We will see.