Tensions are escalating in the New York Republican Party between Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and New York GOP party chair Nick Langworthy, in large part due to Stefanik's endorsement of Hitler-praising congressional candidate Carl Paladino.
Politico reports that there has been "bad blood" between the two ever since Stefanik backed Paladino for an open congressional seat where Langworthy was also running.
"Now the Stefanik-Langworthy rift is spreading to fronts that could hurt the GOP further," the publication writes. "Langworthy’s political director for the state party restricted fundraising and voter contact data Stefanik’s team could access before the Republican National Committee intervened to restore it, according to one person familiar with the matter. Stefanik’s team suggested the RNC stop sending money to the New York GOP to pay for staff and instead hire New York-based RNC-paid staffers."
Paladino has proven to be a particularly controversial endorsement, especially after he praised late Nazi leader Adolf Hitler just last year as "the kind of leader we need today," before going on to gush that the late Fuhrer was "inspirational" and "a doer."
READ MORE: Ginni Thomas' group speaker was still promoting election lies after Jan. 6 — and it's on tape
Paladino has since insisted that he didn't mean to praise Hitler and acknowledged he should have cited Winston Churchill as the kind of leader America needs.
And in 2016, Paladino expressed a desire to see then-first lady Michelle Obama "let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla."
NOW WATCH:Eric Greitens 'Rhino Hunt' ad creates label of being 'mentally unstable'