Cheney of Wyoming was voted out of the third-highest leadership position within the Republican party during a reported closed-door meeting in the basement of the Capitol. Her removal came after she made repeated statements criticizing former President Donald Trump and his claims that the 2020 presidential election was fraught with voter fraud, as well the role these contentions may have played in the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, who represents New York’s 21st Congressional District, has received the former president’s endorsement to become the new chair, with the endorsement coming shortly after the No. 2 House Republican, Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., also officially endorsed her.

Now the clear frontrunner to replace Cheney, Stefanik issued a letter Wednesday asking for colleagues’ vote for the seat.

“Despite the media’s endless attempts to divide us, our Members are united in our laser focus on defeating the radical Socialist Democrat agenda of President Biden and Speaker Pelosi,” Stefanik wrote in the letter. “Our Members believe that the stakes are far too high for us to be divided. We stand shoulder to shoulder in believing that we have a historic opportunity to work as a team to win back the Majority in 2022 on behalf of the American people and save our great country.”

Rep. Elise Stefanik gives a victory speech on election night, Nov. 3, 2020, at the Queensbury Hotel in Glens Falls. (Provided photo — Christopher Lenney, Watertown Daily Times)

Stefanik called for a “unified conservative vision” on issues that are important to Americans, claiming that the legislative agenda put forth by President Joseph Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi imposes “trillions of dollars in new taxes on hard working Americans, trillions in reckless federal spending, unconstitutional gun control bills, amnesty measures that accelerate the crisis at the border, job-killing regulations, a federal takeover of our elections, dangerous national security policies, and invasive government overreach trampling our Constitutional freedoms and liberties.”

“Our communications posture must be to go on aggressive offense every single day to break through the biased media,” she wrote her colleagues. “Our Conference must engage across all media platforms including conservative outlets and alternative tech platforms. Our Members should be provided key messaging points to fight back against the Far-Left media narrative on the issues most important to our constituents.”

Stefanik outlined her goals as conference chair in the letter:

“1. A disciplined, unified message from our leadership team and Republican Conference focused on key issues important to voters. The media and Socialist Democrats will attempt to divide us. We will not take the bait; our message must be disciplined to offensively prosecute the disastrous and destructive Biden and Pelosi agenda.

“2. A communications posture on offense every single day. It is imperative that we not only go on offense against the Socialist Democrats, but we need to be on offense when dealing with the biased mainstream media. Americans are yearning for a conservative vision; we must communicate that message clearly, consistently, and continuously.

“3. Empower all our Members to shine. Our Members have incredible personal stories and diverse backgrounds that embody the American Dream and our conservative principles. It is important to highlight our Members individually instead of focusing exclusively on our leadership team. We need to focus on spotlighting our individual Members and their conservative policy solutions and introducing them to the American people. It is the Conference’s job to support our Members’ ability to engage and win the daily media cycle in their district and nationally.”

No date has been announced for a vote on the chair’s position.