Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., applauds on the first day of 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum, July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP photo — Carolyn Kaster)

North Country Rep. Elise Stefanik congratulated Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance on Monday after he was picked by former President Donald Trump as his 2024 running mate, a position she was being considered in the running for throughout this year’s election cycle.

Among other prominent Republicans, Stefanik’s name was a staple of speculation about Trump’s running mate for months. Her name was floated less often in recent weeks as it was believed that Trump had narrowed his list down to three candidates — Vance, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. However, she was still on major news outlets’ shortlist on the day of the announcement.

Stefanik had stayed aloof on the speculation of her place on the shortlist, never committing hard to a desire for the position, but staying open to it.

In December, Trump reportedly said “she’s a killer,” of Stefanik, when her name was floated as a running mate. He called her a “star” after she defended him in his first impeachment in 2019.

Stefanik called Vance a “strong” choice and that as the GOP conference chair and chair of the New York GOP delegation to the Republican National Convention, she will work her “very hardest” to get Trump and Vance elected on Nov. 5.

“I have enjoyed getting to know J.D. on the campaign trail as surrogates for (former) President Trump and I look forward to campaigning and working with him closely in the months and years ahead,” Stefanik said in a statement. “I am humbled and honored to have been considered by President Trump throughout this process.”

Stefanik called Vance “a strong America First leader and proven conservative.” But, like her, he wasn’t always on the Trump train.

In Trump’s first years as president, Stefanik was ambivalent and sometimes critical of him on his behavior and character. She even condemned his calling his first impeachment process a “lynching.” But after that impeachment, when she later defended Trump, he called her a “star.” She’s become a loyal ally of the former president, calling herself “ultra-MAGA.”

Vance had a more drastic evolution, saying he was “a Never Trump guy” in 2016 and said in a leaked text to a friend that Trump could be “America’s Hitler.”

There had been speculation of what a Stefanik VP pick would mean for the NY-21 district and current race for that seat. She’ll remain as the Republican candidate. Democrat Paula Collins is also on the ballot. Independent Scott Lewis is currently in the courts, battling with county party chairs and the state Board of Elections in an attempt to get on the ballot on the Common Sense party line after his petition was deemed insufficient.