‘I am that fighter’: Former Aide to Trump and Stefanik Runs for Congress in New Hampshire

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) leaves a meeting with Karoline Leavitt where she was elected House Republican conference chair in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center on May 14, 2021 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Karoline Leavitt, a former assistant press secretary for President Donald Trump, announced her running for Congress on Tuesday, saying she is the “fighter” that her home state of New Hampshire needed.

“Here in the Live Free or Die State, 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 a campaign video released on Tuesday. “I am that fighter.”

Leavitt, 23, will be the youngest House Representative and the first Republican woman representing New Hampshire if elected. She also served as the communications director for House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik.

“Everywhere you look, conservatives, myself included, are being censored and silenced. And our freedoms to speak freely, think independently, bear arms, go to church, and operate our own businesses are being infringed by radical Democrats,” said Leavitt, who was raised in a blue-collar, small business family.

Twitter temporarily suspended Leavitt in May after she shared a statement from Trump. Twitter later called it an “error.” Stefanik criticized the suspension as “an unconstitutional overreach silencing our voices and freedom of speech.”

“That’s why I’m standing up to run for Congress, because the conservatives like myself feel like we don’t have a voice,” Leavitt told Fox and Friends Tuesday morning.

“And I want to ensure that especially my generation, and those younger than me, have one. Because our conservative values and principles are what make this country great, and we need to fight for them.”

Leavitt also said in the interview that her generation has been “brainwashed.”

“My generation is absolutely brainwashed by big tech, by the mainstream media, by Hollywood, by cancel culture, and by higher education. Our taxpayer-funded teachers are indoctrinating our students, not educating them,” she claimed.

Leavitt pointed out that every exit poll from 2020 showed that her generation voted overwhelmingly for President Joe Biden.

“And if we want to change that trend, we need to start electing young candidates to the office to start changing some minds,” she said.

“Let’s do this for the future of our country. Let’s do this to advance the America First agenda,” Leavitt added.

State GOP representative Tim Baxter, veteran Julian Acciard, and Gilead Towne have announced their candidacies before Leavitt in the first congressional district of New Hampshire.

The winner of the GOP candidates will face Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in the 2022 election.