Republican congressional candidate Elise Stefanik – who hopes to represent St. Lawrence County -- says her campaign has raised more than $180,000 in seven weeks and has more than $165,000 cash on hand.

The Essex County resident is raising the money for her challenge in 2014 to Plattsburgh Democrat Bill Owens, the 21st Congressional District incumbent. The district includes St. Lawrence, Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis, Washington, and Warren counties, and portions of Herkimer and Saratoga counties.

“I sincerely thank our donors and grassroots volunteers -- from every county in the district -- for making this a very strong start to our campaign,” Stefanik said in her announcement.

Stefanik pulled more than $70,000 from online donors, including many small dollar donations from every county in the district, running what her announcement called “a new kind of campaign that relied heavily on social media and online strategy.”

“As I continue to crisscross the district and listen, upstaters tell me they want a new representative in Congress that will vote to create jobs and curb our debt, and not be part of the tired old political blame game,” Stefanik said. “Providing new, real world ideas to do just that will be an ongoing focus of my campaign,” she said. Donors to Stefanik's campaign included registered Republicans, Conservatives, Independents, and Democrats.

Working at her family’s business, Premium Plywood Products, Stefanik is involved in sales, marketing, and management.

Stefanik has also spent a lot of time in Washington, as a domestic policy aid to Pres. George W. Bush and has worked in several party posts including preparing vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan for his televised debates last year and as policy director for the 2012 Republican National Platform.