Leigh Ann Caldwell and Theodoric Meyer explain in The Washington Post the possible reasons why Rep. Elise Stefanik announced last week she would run again for the position of House Republican conference chair position. That would be giving herself a demotion if Republicans retake the House of Representatives, as they expect to. Stefanik would move down from the Number Three spot in House GOP leadership to Number Four in the hierarchy if Republicans are in the majority. Why? Three other Republicans recently announced they would run for the Number Three spot, as House Whip. So she would face more competition than for Conference Chair, the position she now has, with Rep. Byron Donalds from Florida as the only competition. And being whip means you have to build consensus between moderate and conservative Republicans, which is not Stefanik's specialty these days. “It's going to be a really, really difficult job,” one senior Republican aide said of the whip position. As conference chair, “you're just lobbing bombs at the administration.” And just lobbing bombs at the administration is what Stefanik is doing now, and makes her better suited to become a vice-presidential candidate for someone such as former President Donald Trump if he runs again in 2024. “Trump has encouraged Stefanik to run again, and he is very happy with the job she's done,” said a source close to Stefanik. Read the full story in The Washington Post.