The race for New York’s 21st Congressional District stretched into Wednesday as an already tense and unusual campaign spent at least an extra day in the spotlight, as the tight race has yet to be officially called by the Associated Press.
While Republican and StickerMule CEO Anthony Constantino took over a narrow lead late Tuesday night, Democrat Blake Gendebien told supporters he would not concede until all votes are counted. Constantino declared victory around 11 p.m. after a sizable early lead for Gendebien began to evaporate as more rural precincts began reporting.
Either way, the outcome stood out both in the context of a traditional understanding of New York’s political makeup as well as the overwhelming rebuke of President Donald Trump which took place elsewhere in the nation.
What was clear Wednesday is that Constantino’s final margin of victory will be a slim one, but especially slim when compared to outgoing Congresswoman and top Republican Elise Stefanik’s 24-point margin of victory in 2024, and Trump’s 20-point victory that same year. Stefanik has had little trouble retaining the district since she was elected in 2014, even in otherwise tough years for Republicans.
Democrats were able to win the district in 2009, but through a special election that was marked by infighting on the right.
Despite that narrow margin of victory, Constantino, who self-funded his campaign, managed to fend off the sound defeat that other Republicans faced in solid red districts where eyes were on potentially shocking flips— results in states like Texas and South Carolina that have indeed shocked the nation.
In an election that has largely been seen as a thorough rebuke of the Trump presidency, Constantino embraced the Trump and Trump returned the favor. As of Wednesday night, it paid off.
“First, thank you goes to President Trump for having my back,” he said during his remarks. “For fighting for our country, for having my back, for inspiring me. I have to say thank you to President Donald Trump for endorsing me in the primary and for giving me another endorsement during the general election.”
Despite the national headwinds and divisive nature of the campaign, Constantino spent the immediate moments of his presumptive win attacking individuals who he felt stood in the way of the more decisive victory one would expect from the district in addition to thanking family members and supporters.
He attacked New York state Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox, Republican nominee for governor Bruce Blakeman and other party insiders on social media. He spent a sizable chunk of his acceptance speech Tuesday evening blasting invited media for coverage he deemed unfair, taking the step of calling out individual reporters.
Constantino won the primary with Trump’s endorsement despite a lack of support from state party leaders who endorsed Assemblyman Robert Smullen.
In speaking with supporters Wednesday, Gendebien declined to officially concede until all votes are counted and, in a written statement shortly after, acknowledged that Constantino will likely be heading to Congress, wishing him well and imploring him to put the needs of the North Country first. Regardless of the official outcome, noted the feat of being so close in the first place while crediting Constantino for a hard-fought race.
“Anthony, you’ve run a great race; we’ll continue to see what the race shows. It’s not easy to be an entrepreneur and a candidate and I respect anyone who wants to put their hat in the ring,” he said.
Source: spectrumlocalnews.com
