With her primary win Tuesday evening, former White House aide Elise Stefanik may become the youngest woman ever elected to Congress -- and the youngest member of the next Congress.
The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the 29-year-old Stefanik beat businessman Matt Doheny in New York state's 21st Congressional District's Republican primary to succeed retiring Rep. Bill Owens (D-N.Y.).
Stefanik told the Glens Falls Post-Star Saturday that her age means she'll bring a fresh perspective to Congress.
“We also talk about how this is a generational choice to move in a direction with positive solutions and independent ideas about how we can get our country on track,” she said.
The record for youngest woman elected to Congress is currently held by former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman (D-N.Y.), who was elected at age 31 in 1972.
The youngest representative elected at the beginning of the current Congress was Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.), who was 30 at the time.
The Karl Rove-backed American Crossroads spent more than $750,000 on behalf of Stefanik, helping to tilt the primary in her favor.
Stefanik served in the domestic policy and chief of staff’s offices during President George W. Bush’s second term. She had been endorsed by Mitt Romney, the former Republican presidential nominee and Massachusetts governor; Susan B. Anthony List, the anti-abortion group; and RightNOW Women PAC, which works to elect women to Congress.
She will face the Democratic nominee, former filmmaker Aaron Woolf, in November. The district is considered a tossup.
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