Elise Stefanik, a favorite to be Donald Trump's 2024 running mate, says she would not have certified the 2020 election as Mike Pence did

• Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-NY, said she would not have certified the 2020 election results in an interview with CNN Thursday
• Stefanik is widely thought to be a top candidate for Trump’s vice president pick
• Trump recently floated Gov. Kristi Noem and Sen. Tim Scott as potential VPs  

New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik said Thursday she would not have certified the 2020 election had she been in then-Vice President Mike Pence’s position.

Her comments come as speculation is growing around who former President Donald Trump may choose as his new running mate this year.

Stefanik voted against certifying the Pennsylvania election results on January 6, 2021. She did, however, vote to certify the election results in Arizona, which was the only other state thats election was contested that day.

‘I stood up for the Constitution,’ Stefanik said on CNN Thursday night when asked about her votes. ‘I would not have done what Mike Pence did. I don’t think that was the right approach.’

Pence earned the scorn of the former president when he refused Trump’s demands while presiding over the Senate during the electoral count – and did not reject electoral votes certified by the states. Trump, at the time, fumed that Pence did not have ‘courage.’

‘And let me say this for you: when it comes to this election, we’re seeing the Democrats trying to remove President Trump from the ballot,’ Stefanik continued.

The New York congresswoman called Democrats’ myriad attempts to remove Trump from ballots across the country as ‘not constitutional’ adding that does not lead to ‘a legal and safe, secure election.’

Stefanik, given her loyalty to the former president, is widely believed to be a contender to be Trump’s vice presidential choice in 2024.

But in an interview with Fox News Sunday, the former president said he won’t announce who he plans to run with in the 2024 ticket for ‘a while.’

‘We have some many good people in the Republican Party,’ Trump said.

He did, however, confirm that South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem were on his shortlist of potential running mates.

‘I called Tim Scott and I told him ‘you’re a much better candidate for me than you are for yourself,’ Trump said.

‘Kristi Noem has been incredible fighting for me,’ he added of the South Dakota governor. ‘She said ‘I’d never run against him because I can’t beat him.’ That was a very nice thing to say.’

Sen. Tim Scott ended his presidential campaign in November before endorsing Trump

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has been a longtime supporter of Trump and the former president confirmed that she is on his list of potential running mates

Stefanik also said she is proud to be one of Trump’s closest allies.

‘I’m proud to be one of the top surrogates for President Trump,’ she said Thursday. ‘I voted for President Trump in 2016. I was proud to work with him.’

‘I would be proud to serve in a future Trump administration, but we have a lot to do,’ Stefanik added.

Surveys consistently do show Scott, Noem and Stefanik listed as popular potential running mates for Trump.

Trump’s former press secretary and current Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and former 2024 contender and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are also believed to be potential running mates.

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