PLATTSBURGH — U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-Schuylerville) spent $172,904 on political strategy and communications consulting, and consultant travel, during the confirmation process to become U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, a nomination President Trump abruptly withdrew on March 27, a new campaign finance report shows.
The largest consulting payments from her campaign fund between Jan. 1 and March 31 were to North Country Strategies, the political consulting firm of senior adviser Alex De Grasse, which was paid $100,209, according to a first quarter finance report the campaign filed with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday.
Patrick Stewart Hester, the congresswoman’s chief of staff, was paid $40,000 for political strategy consulting outside of his House duties, and Argus Insights, a communications firm, was paid $30,000.
Dream Team LLC was paid $1,500 and Sean Chilson $1,195.
President Trump has said he withdraw Stefanik’s nomination because he could not risk losing the seat in a special election given the razor-thin GOP margin in the House.
Since then, House Speaker Mike Johnson has appointed Stefanik Chairwoman of House Leadership, and she has resumed appearing frequently on national television news shows, promoting President Trump’s agenda.
Stefanik’s campaign had $130,803 in receipts in the first quarter, including $107,195 transferred from “Team Elise” and “The Elise Victory Fund,” funds she had set up in previous election cycles to jointly raise funds for herself, other GOP congressional candidates, the state Republican Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Stefanik had $8.5 million in her campaign fund, as of March 31.
She has not yet said whether she intends to seek re-election to the House in 2026.
Multiple news outlets on Wednesday reported she is considering running for governor.
Democratic candidate Blake Gendebien had $2.02 million in his campaign fund, as of March 31.
Gendebien’s campaign had $3.08 million in receipts in the first quarter, and a total of $3.34 million for the campaign cycle so far.
Gendebien has continued actively campaigning for 2026 congressional election, or a special election if Stefanik resigns before then.
The farmer from Lisbon, in St. Lawrence County, is well-positioned financially to draw national attention and get his message out in the district.
Typically, raising at least $1 million by the end of an off-year before the election has been considered a benchmark for a candidate to be deemed creditable.
Gendebien has already gained national attention, and has begun receiving some political action committee support.
He received itemized individual contributions from 46 states and the District of Columbia during the first quarter.
He received $1.92 million in so-called “small dollar” un-itemized contributions of less than $200 each, accounting for 62.3% of total receipts.
The dollar amount and percentage of small-dollar contributions are considered indicators of grass-roots support.
Among larger contributions, Patriot political action committee contributed $5,000; Resist Reclaim Rebuild PAC, which focuses on districts with Republican incumbents, $5,000; Win Blue PAC, which focusses on candidates who are “off the radar,” $3,500; Bluegrass PAC, which focuses on rural districts, $1,000; and Voter Protection PAC, which focuses on voting rights issues, $1,000.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers labor union contributed $2,500.
Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) contributed $1,000 from her campaign fund, and Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) $1,000 from his political action committee.
Glens Falls Mayor Bill Collins, a Democrat, contributed $100 from his campaign fund.
Gendebien’s campaign spent $1.28 million, much of it on fund-raising, in the first quarter, and a total $1.29 million in the election cycle, so far.
His first quarter spending included $782,265 for digital advertising, text messages and telephone calls; $74,800 on polling; and $50,118 for donor lists and data bases.
Among other Democrats, Paula Collins, who challenged Stefanik in 2024, had $95,089 in her campaign fund as of March 31.
Collins, a cannabis lawyer from Canton, had $13,293 in receipts in the first quarter, and spent $13,612.
Dylan Hewitt had $10,642 in his campaign fund, as of March 31.
Hewitt, a former White House trade adviser from South Glens Falls, had $113,217 in receipts during the 1st quarter.
His campaign spent $2,967, and refunded $99,608 in contributions after he was not selected as the Democratic candidate for the special election.
Unlike a regular election, there is no primary in a special election.
Party chairs in the district select the candidate.
On the Republican side, Amsterdam businessman Anthony Constantino, who self-funded his campaign, had $937,475 left in his campaign fund, as of March 31, out of $2.6 million he had personally loaned his campaign.
He spent $1.37 million in the first quarter, bringing total campaign spending this election cycle to $1.66 million.
He did not receive any campaign contributions, the filing said.
Constantino is the only potential Republican special election candidate who had established a campaign account.