Stefanik and Collins are starting in very different places last week before the election

Oct 31, 2024 —

The two candidates for New York's 21st Congressional District started the final week before Election Day in very different places.

On Sunday evening, Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik took the stage at Madison Square Garden.

“Hello, New York!” she said to cheers from the sellout crowd of Donald Trump supporters.

Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik speaks to Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, October 27, 2024, in New York. Photo: AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Stefanik was one of many speakers at the rally. During her remarks, she criticized the Biden-Harris administration for its handling of the border, inflation and conflicts such as the war between Israel and Hamas.

“Every election, we say, is the most important in our lives,” she said. “But this really is it. No matter where you go, whether in New York City, New York State or one of the swing states, people realize that there is so much at stake.”

“And it is we the people, if we vote for President Donald J. Trump, then we the people will save America.”

At a much smaller event the following evening, Stefanik's Democratic opponent, Paula Collins, agreed that there is a lot at stake in this election, but for different reasons.

“Are we going to promote democracy or are we going to take back democracy?” she said.

According to the Glens Falls Post Star, about 50 people were at the Crandall Public Library to watch Collins debate. Collins said she and her team invited Stefanik to take part in the debate several times. The congresswoman's campaign said she would not take part.

Stefanik's Democratic challenger, Paula Collins, held a one-on-one debate Monday night at the Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls. Photo source: Paula Collins for the Congress Facebook page

At Monday night's event, Collins criticized Stefanik, saying she continues to not accept the results of the 2020 election and has given vague answers about whether she would accept the results of this election. In an interview with CNN earlier this year, Stefanik suggested that she would not have certified the results of the 2020 election if she had been vice president at the time.

Collins called on Stefanik to resign.

“She has shirked her oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States,” the Democrat said. “We have received every indication from her that she plans to do the same in the coming days and weeks.”

Asked for an answer, Stefanik's senior adviser Alex deGrasse said the congresswoman “maintains her winning record and is fully capable of once again receiving the most total votes of any candidate in North Country history.”

Stefanik enters Election Day with enormous advantages, including millions of dollars in campaign funds, name recognition and a strong alliance with Trump, who is popular in the north of the country. Collins has stated that regardless of the outcome, she plans to run again in 2026.