Constantino declares victory in NY-21

Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino – President Donald Trump’s handpicked Republican to replace Rep. Elise Stefanik in the 21st Congressional District – declared victory over Democrat Blake Gendebien soon after 11 p.m. Tuesday night.

Constantino, who handily won the June primary to become the Republican nominee, was leading Gendebien by more than 2 percentage points, 51% to 48.8%, with all of the election districts reporting, according to preliminary data from the state Board of Elections. Gendebien, a dairy farmer from Ogdensburg, performed better than most Democrats who’ve run for the North Country seat in the recent past, but was still trailing at midnight.

“To all the people that voted for Blake Gendebien, you all made a big mistake,” Constantino told supporters at his election night party, held at his 100-foot Vote For Trump sign in Amsterdam, which is just outside the district. The sign, erected atop the sticker factory at the height of the 2024 presidential race catapulted Constantino to online fame among the MAGA right and fueled his higher political aspirations. 

“You all made a big mistake, but it’s OK, I’m gonna spend the next two years winning you over and make you fall in love with me just like my employees did,” Constantino said. I’m a very difficult boss, let’s just put it that way, but I get results for people – I take care of people,” he said during his victory speech, later adding. “I know in my heart of hearts I’m a good person, I care about people.”

Meanwhile, a tearful Gendebien took the stage before an enthusiastic yet noticeably thinned crowd around 11:50 p.m. on election night – but he was clear that his remarks were “not a concession” and that there are “still votes to count.”

“The voters of the North Country are making their choice and I will respect whatever the result is,” said Gendebien to his supporters. “We are closer than any Democrat has been in a decade, and we helped inspire a record turnout, with neighbors who sat out election after election deciding that this one was worth winning.”

Maeve Kelly, a campaign spokesperson for Gendebien, told City & State that “this is the last time he’s addressing anybody this evening” as they still see the race as “too close to call.”

However, in a statement released soon after, Gendebien said “it appears Anthony Constantino will narrowly win.”

Republicans in the North Country outnumber registered Democrats in the region nearly 2 to 1. But what seems likely to be a narrow win for Constantino represents a divide in the GOP, and local party leaders are worried about the consequences. Constantino defeated Assembly Member Robert Smullen in a primary landslide last spring after securing Trump’s endorsement. But in the months that followed, many conservatives struggled with Constantino’s confrontational nature and online bullying, and Democrats heavily invested in the race after close polling showed the seat wasn’t as solidly Republican as it has been for nearly two decades.