Mar 30, 2018 — It's a big election year and the North Country's Republican congresswoman, Elise Stefanik, faces seven Democratic challengers. That's unprecedented.

She often sees protests and rallies outside her offices here in the 21st district.

In a season where progressive and liberal activists have been energized by their opposition to Donald Trump, Stefanik, a rising star in the GOP, has chosen to embrace the President. Just last week she invited him to visit the North Country.

While controversial issues grab a lot of attention, Stefanik spends most of her time working on smaller, less glamorous issues, everything from tweaks to the Farm Bill to more funding for the US-Canada border. That work will make her hard to beat in November.

Controversies and politics aside, a dynamo

During two days NCPR spent with Elise Stefanik in Washington, she pivoted at a dizzying pace. One minute she was chairing an Armed Services Committee hearing talking about artificial intelligence – an issue she’s focused on. The next minute, was dropping in on an event organized by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

"I wouldn't be able to juggle that," Stefanik said, referring to the idea of owning a dog. "But I love dogs. Someday..."

It’s this part of her work, juggling, pivoting from one issue to the next, that doesn’t get a lot of attention, but it shapes her life. "That is what a typical day is like both in the district and here." She's used to it now, but "in the first term that was a challenge."

Bread and butter and apples

A lot of it isn’t glamorous, headline-grabbing stuff. On this day, she meets with colleges that want more funding for foreign studies programs. The apple industry drops by her office. "What are your top priorities in the Farm Bill?" Stefanik asked.

Controversial stuff does pop up. It’s not all bread and butter pothole work. Russian interference in U.S. elections, NAFTA and free trade. These orchard operators are really worried about the lack of immigration reform. It threatens their ability to find workers. 

It’s important to understand that this kind of work matters in politics. Constituent services, day-to-day networking translates into votes. Some of her Democratic opponents acknowledge how tough it’ll be to get past Stefanik.

Democrats acknowledge Stefanik's strong position

"She's won in a landslide," said Katie Wilson, one of seven Democratic challengers running in the primary hoping to challenge Stefanik. During a fundraising event earlier this month, she acknowledged that Stefanik is in a really strong position, describing her as "vibrant and dynamic" and "stilll very well liked despite her voting record."

Some of Stefanik’s record is controversial. She has embraced Donald Trump politically. She voted against the Affordable Care Act, which thousands of North Country families rely on. At a time when gun control is once again a big agenda item in Washington, and in Albany, she remains a staunch ally of the NRA.

Reading the voters?

But the congresswoman has clearly made the calculation that voters back home in the North Country are mostly focused on other things. "Most of the people I represent and most hard-working families, they're focused on their jobs, they're focused on their kids, they're focused on whatever community organizations they're involved with," she said.

Stefanik says the media gives a skewed impression of what happens here in Washington, a skewed impression of what lawmakers like her spend their time doing. "Some media outlets, particularly network news, focus on the controversies and whatever's loudest at the time. What's missed is that eighty percent of the bills we've passed have been bipartisn."

Stefanik's focus has worked for her. In a district that once voted for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and Democratic congressman Bill Owens, Stefanik won re-election in 2016 by more than thirty points. Which means that even in this year that seems to be favoring Democrats, she’ll be very hard to beat this November.