Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) praised Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) on Wednesday, arguing that both Democrats’ forceful condemnations of campus antisemitism after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks made them outliers in their party on the issue.

Speaking on a webinar with the Jewish Institute for National Security of America to discuss her book on campus antisemitism, ​​Poisoned Ivies: The Inside Account of the Academic and Moral Rot at America’s Elite Universities, Stefanik noted Shapiro was a rare Democrat to call for the resignation of Liz Magill, the former University of Pennsylvania president, after she struggled to answer Stefanik’s questions during a December 2023 committee hearing on whether calling for the genocide of Jews constituted bullying or harassment. (Magill resigned days after the hearing amid mounting criticism of her testimony.)

“There’s a huge challenge within the Democrat Party right now with this rise of antisemitism. I do highlight in the book that Fetterman was a really important voice that condemned without hesitation,” Stefanik said. “Josh Shapiro, he was governor of Pennsylvania when this happened. Penn was among the worst, and you had very weak leadership from Liz Magill. He called for her resignation immediately as well.”

“There are a few examples, but that’s outside of the norm of the Democratic Party and what we’re seeing play out both in the public polling, but also in some of these primary elections,” she continued, referencing the increase in anti-Israel candidates who have won recent Democratic primary contests.

Stefanik suggested that a number of Democratic candidates had won recent primaries despite leading campus encampments themselves, though she did not specify anyone by name and it was not clear who she was referring to. 

“It was only the House Republicans who conducted these hearings. The Senate at the time was controlled by Democrats. They didn’t have a single hearing on the crisis in higher education and the skyrocketing antisemitism. That, in and of itself, I think shows the lack of prioritization,” Stefanik said. “Politically, look at what’s happening in these Democrat primaries. You now have the leaders of the pro-Hamas encampments running for Congress and getting elected in these Democrat primaries. So, I make the case in the book that what happens on these campuses has a direct line into what’s happening politically.”