A former press aide to former President Trump and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) on Tuesday announced a campaign to run for the House seat in New Hampshire’s 1st District.
Karoline Leavitt, who worked as an assistant press secretary in Trump’s White House, announced her campaign on “Fox & Friends” and released a video on social media to tout her platform. A New Hampshire native, Leavitt most recently worked as Stefanik’s communications director and left the job shortly after the congresswoman was elected to House GOP leadership.
“We take our freedoms very seriously, and we need a bold, energetic fighter to serve as a firewall between we the people and those who want to destroy our way of life,” Leavitt said in her announcement video.
The video features multiple mentions of the “radical” Democrats and the Biden administration’s efforts to reverse numerous Trump administration policies. It includes multiple photos of Leavitt standing alongside former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, her boss in the White House.
“I proudly helped advance President Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda, fight for the forgotten men and women of this country and combat the biased fake news media that attacked us every single day,” Leavitt said.
Leavitt, 23, would be among the youngest candidates ever elected to the House if she wins her race.
New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District is represented by Chris Pappas (D), who has held the seat since 2019. He won reelection in 2020, narrowly defeating Trump-backed candidate Matt Mowers.
The congressional district is expected to be redrawn by the GOP-led legislature ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, and it’s unclear if Pappas will seek reelection once the redistricting is complete. Multiple prospective GOP candidates, including Mowers, are said to be considering a run for the House seat.
“This GOP primary is already shaping up to be an ugly, competitive race to the furthest fringes of the far right,” James Singer, a spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement. “It’s simple: New Hampshire families cannot afford to have an inexperienced, Trump acolyte like Karoline Leavitt representing them.”
Updated at 10:32 a.m.