Sticker Mule CEO Constantino runs Trump-aligned bid for NY-21 House seat
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino is running as a Republican to keep New York's 21st District seat, with VP JD Vance rallying for him.
The race to replace Elise Stefanik tests whether a brash outsider can hold a long-GOP seat.
Background
Anthony Constantino is the CEO of Sticker Mule and the Republican candidate for New York's 21st Congressional District; the material also notes he has boxed professionally in Mexico, released a rap album titled "Thank you President Trump," and once debated an inflatable chicken posing as his opponent. The seat has been held by Republican Elise Stefanik since 2015, and she is stepping down at the end of the year, leaving it open. Constantino first sought the GOP nomination in a special election to replace Stefanik after she was nominated as U.N. ambassador, but Trump withdrew her nomination and that election never happened; he later won the nomination in a bitter primary against state Assemblyman Robert Smullen. He faces Democrat Blake Gendebien, a St. Lawrence County farmer and dairy farmer.
How it unfolded
- Oct 9, 2026A Siena poll showed Democrat Blake Gendebien leading Constantino in NY-21.
- Oct 14, 2026Constantino, who first expressed interest in representing NY-21 almost two years earlier, discussed affordability and his business approach to politics.
- Oct 19, 2026 /20, 2026Constantino spoke about immigration, reforming government and Mike Johnson, and said he was skeptical of media descriptions of the race as close.
- Oct 29, 2026About 30 people gathered at Constantino's Plattsburgh campaign headquarters; he joked about whether electing him or firing Kathy Hochul was more important.
- Oct 30, 2026Reports said Vice President JD Vance planned to visit the North Country to stump with Constantino before Election Day.
- Nov 2, 2026Vance rallied for Constantino in Rome, New York; Donald Trump Jr. and US Energy Secretary Chris Wright also flew in, while Stefanik was not present.
- Nov 2, 2026Constantino dismissed tight poll numbers; a poll his campaign called a "scam" showed Gendebien with a narrow 4-point lead, and Democrats spent $1.4 million in advertising spots in NY21 on Friday.
Who’s saying what
- Party
- Constantino says he is willing to work across the aisle: "I want to help all people. If you guys want to help all people, too, let's work together."
- Support
- Altona voter James VanEtten, a semi-retired farmer and construction worker, said "having allies like Anthony in the state, in the political system, is really important."
- Campaign
- Senior advisor Alex DeGrasse said "Despite relentless fraud on the part of the establishment and media, Anthony Constantino is winning NY-21" and that Siena "intentionally skewered results" by including a conservative write-in but not a far-left write-in.
- Caution
- Constantino dismissed the poll showing Gendebien ahead as a "scam" because it asked about a write-in candidate, and said "We're not running against Blake, we're running against these people," referring to reporters he called "evil."
Still unverified
Reports said Vice President JD Vance planned to visit the North Country to stump with Constantino before Election Day; Constantino also faces two ongoing defamation lawsuits — one over saying state Conservative Party Chair Jerry Kassar threatened to kill him, the other over allegedly smearing Philip Perry, the fiancé of Clinton County GOP Chair Jerika Manning — which remain unresolved claims.