Elise Stefanik 'pivots to extremist MAGA base' by teaming with 'Stop the Steal' organizer and Roy Moore apologist: report

New York Republican Congressman Elise Stefanik, a one-time moderate who recently replaced Liz Cheney as House GOP conference chairwoman, is taking a hard turn to the right as she teams with Scott Presler, a right-wing activist and conspiracy theorist who served as an organizer for former president Donald Trump's "Stop the Steal" movement.

Stefanik is scheduled to appear with Presler for an Aug. 25 rally and voter registration drive in Saratoga, New York, the Daily Beast reported Friday.

Presler served as a top strategist for what has been deemed the largest anti-Muslim hate group in the U.S., and spent weeks defending Alabama GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore against accusations of child molestation in 2017. Presler attended the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, which he called "the largest civil rights protest in American history," and has recently dabbled in conspiracy theories related to QAnon and COVID denialism.

"The joint appearance with Stefanik, slated for an Aug. 25 rally and voter registration drive in Saratoga, New York, highlights the four-term Republican's ongoing pivot to an extremist MAGA base still enthralled with ex-President Donald Trump and the notion that the 2020 election was unfairly decided," the Daily Beast reported, adding that Stefanik previously fashioned herself as a "right of center Republican" but "has pivoted to fully embrace the Trump wing of her party."

Stefanik challenged Electoral College results from the 2020 presidential election, voted against an independent commission to investigate the Capitol insurrection, and recently faced backlash after pushing false narratives about the events of Jan. 6.

"On a personal level, however, that pivot appears to have paid off," the Daily Beast noted, pointing to her selection to replace Cheney, who was pushed out after voting to impeach Trump for inciting the insurrection.

Presler, who endorsed Stefanik for GOP conference chair, has apparently set up shop in her home state, where he's been "harvesting" voter registrations.

He's also on the payroll of the RISE NY PAC, which is organizing the Stefanik rally.

Read the full story here.