Contenders gear up for special election following Stefanik’s UN Ambassador nomination
By Lucy Hodgman, Staff Writer
ALBANY — The Republicans who are battling to succeed U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik are intensifying their efforts behind the scenes as her confirmation to become U.N. ambassador in the administration of President-elect Donald J. Trump is expected to go through next week.
Democrats are also gearing up to have a candidate run in what will be a special election for the North Country congressional seat, although they face an uphill battle in a district that leans heavily Republican.
Stefanik is scheduled to attend a confirmation hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Jan. 16. She’s almost certain to be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate, vacating the North Country congressional seat she’s held for a decade. Stefanik ascension from Congress to the U.N. leadership position follows her loyal support of President-elect Donald J. Trump, including being one of his most vocal allies in the House of Representatives when he had faced impeachment hearings.
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Trump tapped her for U.N. ambassador less than a week after he was elected to a second term and as he quickly filled his cabinet’s key posts.
Since then, multiple GOP contenders have been vying to gain support of key Republican Party leaders as they seek to slide into Stefanik’s seat in New York’s 21st Congressional District, a largely rural district which includes the Mohawk Valley and much of the Adirondacks and other North Country counties along the Canadian border. Upstate Republicans see it as a step up the political ladder in a district their party is likely to win — Stefanik beat her Democratic challenger by more than 80,000 votes in November. For Democrats, the breakneck speed of the special election process offers a rare opportunity to regain control over the once purple district.
Much of their campaigning remains unofficial, since the seat won’t officially open until Stefanik resigns. At that point, Gov. Kathy Hochul will have 10 days to schedule a special election to be held within another 70 to 80 days. Instead of a traditional primary election, the process requires the chairs of the county Republican and Democratic party committees within the district to select their party’s nominee. Each chair’s vote is weighted by the number of registered party voters in their county.
“We’ll be in the national spotlight, so to speak. It’s going to be a big race,” said Jason Ellis, chair of the Franklin County Republican Committee. “We have a lot of good, qualified candidates, so we’re blessed in that regard. With the decisive win that Trump had and that Elise has carried in this district, we’re confident that we can choose the right candidate and that the next congressperson will be a Republican.”
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Ellis stressed that the special election’s accelerated timeline would make it a grueling process for any candidate — nominees must be willing to campaign and fundraise on an election cycle that’s “scrunched” into a few months.
GOP contenders
With the selection process underway, Republicans already in elected office battling for the post include state Sen. Daniel Stec, Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin, and state Assembly members Chris Tague and Robert Smullen.
McLaughlin is the self-proclaimed “boss” of Rensselaer County, which was carved out of NY-21 when the district’s redrawn boundaries took effect on Jan. 1. But there’s no law requiring members of Congress to live in the district they represent, and the outspoken county executive is popular among upstate Republicans. He would also have the ability to move into the district at any point.
McLaughlin’s political career has been rife with controversy — he was censured for conduct when he was an assemblyman and accused of sexually harassing a female aide. He was later accused of physically assaulting another female aide during an argument, allegations he denies and that he contends she later recanted. In 2023, he was acquitted of state criminal charges alleging he had embezzled $5,000 from his campaign to pay off that second aide. But aside from his political bravado and spotty reputation with some women, McLaughlin has also won accolades from many of his constituents for his work overseeing Rensselaer County, including well-paved roads and keeping taxes down.
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Tague, a former dairy farmer and Schoharie County native, has served in the Assembly since 2018. He told the Times Union in a statement that he has “very much been a part of the process to find a successor for Congresswoman Stefanik” and is in the process of interviewing with the district’s county chairs. Smullen, who represents Tague’s neighboring district to the north, has also expressed interest in the seat. The three-term assemblyman is a retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel, a credential which could carry weight in a district with a high number of military veterans.
Another veteran putting his name forward is Stec, whose state Senate district falls entirely within Stefanik’s. Stec said he had spoken to the county chairs about the position, as well as Stefanik — although he noted that the congresswoman has not been deeply involved in the selection process. However, Republican sources said the congresswoman and Trump will eventually endorse a GOP candidate who would succeed her, and that their wishes will have great sway in who the party selects.
“It’s going to be a sprint, so with my advantage of having represented half this district for many years now, I have a head start in that regard,” Stec said. “I’ve got my fingers crossed that it’ll go the way I want it to and we’ll take it from there. But we’ll know a lot more in a month or so.”
In recent weeks, Stec has come under fire from Anthony Constantino — the CEO of Sticker Mule and another Republican hopeful for Stefanik’s seat. Constantino posted on X that Stec “hid in a corner” and “refused” to endorse Trump’s first bid for president. Constantino shared an October 2016 Glens Falls Post-Star article in which Stec called Trump’s remarks about women “inexcusable,” and said he would not be making an endorsement in the presidential race.
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But Stec ultimately endorsed Trump just two weeks later, as well as in 2024. He told the Times Union that attempts to misrepresent his record were “politics at their silliest and most cynical.” Although Stefanik has made a name for herself as a staunch Trump ally, she too had initial doubts about the president-elect, calling him a “whack job” in 2016, according to reporting by the New York Times.
Constantino, for his part, has made his enthusiastic allegiance to Trump central to his political brand. The sticker salesman’s first foray into politics was last July, when he sent an email to Sticker Mule’s 4 million-person mailing list with the subject line “Trump 2024.” In the fall, he spent $125,000 to erect a 100-foot long, 12-foot tall illuminated “Vote for Trump” sign atop Sticker Mule’s headquarters in Montgomery County, winning the approval of prominent Trump allies like Roger Stone and Laura Loomer.
“I do everything very quickly,” Constantino said. “People started calling me, suggesting I go for the seat. I did a quick analysis and decided it was a good idea because it’s in line with my principles. I like to use my time in the best way possible and I like to solve the biggest problems that are within my power to solve. Obviously, the problem set is a lot more interesting as a congressperson than it is as a CEO of a company that sells stickers.”
Constantino said Stefanik had given him advice about running a campaign, adding that the two have known each other since they attended The Albany Academy in high school.
Former Newsmax host Joe Pinion has also jumped into the competition. Now a political analyst on networks including Fox News and CNN, Pinion was the Republican nominee challenging former Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer in 2022. Although he did not win, he performed better than any Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in New York since 2000. He was also the first Black candidate to receive a major party’s backing for the U.S. Senate in New York.
“The majority of people who are Republicans and call this district home have already voted to send me to D.C,” Pinion said. “If we are given the honor, the responsibility and the blessing to be that choice, we are committed to doing everything humanly possible to hit the ground running and to make sure that there’s not a drop off in the level of representation that the people of NY-21 receive.”
Liz Joy — who twice unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko in New York’s 20th District — confirmed that she is also among the candidates pursuing the nomination, but declined to comment further on her congressional aspirations. Joy is a staunch Trump supporter who attended the rally at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, although she has condemned the violence that erupted that day.
Democrats see opportunity
On the other side of the aisle, Democrats are facing an uphill battle. Assemblyman D. Billy Jones, who had been seen as a favorite for the nomination, announced last week that he is not interested in the position. Jones, the state Legislature’s sole Democrat in the North Country, said in a statement that there are “a lot of important issues that need to be addressed on the state level.”
Lynne Boecher, the chair of the Warren County Democratic Committee, said party leaders had 10 other qualified candidates to consider for the nominee. Part of what makes the selection process difficult, she explained, is the district’s physical size — not only do party chairs have to coordinate across great distances, they also have to choose the candidate who can best represent the county’s range of interests.
“There is a major difference between life in a county like Warren or Saratoga, because of our proximity to the Capital District, as opposed to Franklin County, Lewis County, St. Lawrence County and Jefferson County,” Boecher said. “The challenge is to select a candidate who reflects the values of our party in concert with the values of this district, which is difficult.”
Paula Collins, who unsuccessfully challenged Stefanik for the seat in November, announced her interest in running for the seat again not long after the election. A cannabis tax attorney and special education teacher, Collins stressed the importance of maintaining continuity in the district — but acknowledged the fundraising challenges she faced during her first campaign for the seat.
Some new hopefuls include Jay Town Councilman Knut Sauer, Middleburgh Mayor Timothy Knight, dairy farmer Blake Gendebien and retired Army Lt. Col. Steven Holden. Gendebien announced on Tuesday that his campaign had already raised more than $265,000 from over 10,000 individual donors. That includes $178,000 raised in his first seven days of campaigning, marking the largest first week haul on record for a Democrat in the district.
“I’ve been working on this campaign the same way I work on my dairy farm — from sunrise until well after sunset to get the job done,” Gendebien said in a statement. “Folks in the North Country deserve a fighter who’s going to make life a little bit better and a lot cheaper. I’m thankful to all the folks that have come together to support my campaign, and I’m ready to put that money to work to win this race.”
Holden, who moved to New York from Oklahoma following his service in the Army, explained that the special election presents an opportunity for “the right kind of Democrat” to break through in the Republican stronghold district. He noted that the special election could serve as a referendum on the first months of the second Trump administration, after the president-elect’s policies have started to affect North Country residents.
“This is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime chance,” Holden said. “If you can get through, put your best foot forward and then get out to the voters, you could end up in Congress.”
Photo at top: Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin, left, is seen at an event with U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik. McLaughlin is one of several GOP contenders vying to replace the North Country Republican in Congress. Will Waldron/Times Union
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