A teen who recorded a secret video of Democratic congressional candidate Tedra Cobb was paid nearly $1,000 by the National Republican Congressional Committee to track candidates.

Preston Scagnelli of Clifton Park recorded the video at a “Teens for Tedra” house party in Gansevoort on May 18. Cobb is heard on the video saying that she supports an assault weapons ban but cannot take that position publicly and get elected. Scagnelli is heard introducing himself as “Grayson” and saying his phone is dead and that he is not recording anything.

The Republican Committee’s June report, filed with the Federal Election Commission, shows a $651.53 payment to Scagnelli made on May 31. The July report, which covers expenses in June, shows two other payments to Scagnelli — one for $178.04 on June 14 and another one for $150 on June 27.

The disclosure forms say that Scagnelli provided “research materials consulting.” The three payments add up to $979.57.

The May payment came after the recording of the video.

National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Chris Martin confirmed Tuesday that Scagnelli is a “tracker” who follows candidates to record what they say and discover whether they are saying something inconsistent with their stated positions.

Martin said Scagnelli likely went to multiple events to earn close to $1,000.

“We don’t pay anywhere close to that per event,” he said.

Martin said Scagnelli did not approach the Republican Committee but was recruited.

“The NRCC is very active in identifying folks who disagree with views of Democratic candidates,” Martin said.

Martin pointed out that the “Teens for Tedra” gathering where the video was recorded was not a private event. He said it was advertised on Cobb’s Facebook page.

“It was a very public event that she decided to talk about an assault weapons ban, but she couldn’t say that on the campaign trail,” he said. “It’s not like we snuck into some back room somewhere. It was a publicly advertised event by her campaign.”

Martin said he couldn’t speak to other specific events where Scagnelli followed Cobb.

A photo on Cobb’s Facebook page, dated July 7, shows Scagnelli talking to Cobb at the Wilton Parkfest at Gavin Park. The videos recorded at the “Teens for Tedra” were released on July 9.

Scagnelli said Monday he did not want The Post-Star to contact him again about this matter.

There were two separate videos uploaded to the “Democrat Tracking” YouTube channel. The one named “NY-21 Tedra Cobb Teen Talk Part 2” had the relevant comments about gun control.

Part 1 had Scagnelli getting out of his car to attend the event. He tells people his phone died, and after some introductions, the students talk about people who have been recruited by the Republicans to tape Cobb at her events. Cobb says she has been taped at other events. Scagnelli denies that he is taping the event because his phone died.

When people click on a link embedded in a previous article on this topic to access Part 1, a message comes up that says: “This video has been removed for violating YouTube’s Terms of Service.”