Inside the Democratic strategy for the special election
By Lucy Hodgman, Times Union
ALBANY — Democratic leaders have selected dairy farmer Blake Gendebien to run in the special election for New York’s 21st Congressional seat — although when that election will take place is increasingly unclear.
U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik is expected to resign from the seat once the Senate confirms her to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations advanced Stefanik’s nomination shortly after a smooth hearing last month, but a source briefed on the process told the Times Union that the Republican-led Senate could wait to officially confirm her until April.
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The delay would give Republicans a chance to try and fill the House seats in Florida vacated by former U.S. Reps. Michael Waltz and Matt Gaetz. By keeping Stefanik in the House for two additional months, it could safeguard the GOP’s narrow majority before her successor is determined by a special election. The special elections for the seats vacated by Waltz and Gaetz are slated for April 1.
If Stefanik does resign as expected, state law dictates that Gov. Kathy Hochul will have 10 days to schedule a special election within the following 70 to 80 days. But that timeline was also thrown into uncertainty when Democrats in the state Legislature met privately last week to discuss a bill that could delay that special election until the summer. Several Democratic lawmakers said Monday that discussion has been paused for now.
The identity of Gendebien’s potential opponent remains unknown. The nominees are selected by the chairs of the Democratic and Republican committee chairs for each of the district’s 15 counties. Republicans, who are expected to align their candidate with the Conservative Party’s, have yet to announce their pick from the crowded field of candidates vying for the nomination.
Gendebien will face an uphill battle regardless of who he’s running against. The once purple district has shifted red in recent years, with Stefanik comfortably winning reelection five times in a row. But Democrats are hopeful that the condensed timeline — and Republicans’ spotty special election track record — will allow their candidate to break through. Gendebien, 48, said he is up for the challenge.
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“It’s important to me to return this office to the populist body that it was meant to be,” Gendebien told the Times Union last month. “That means my finger is on the pulse of what North Country residents really need. I care about them. They’re my friends, they’re my neighbors, and not a tool to be used.”
Gendebien (whose name is pronounced jen-da-bee-an) is a political newcomer with deep roots in the upstate district he is seeking to represent. He grew up on his family’s dairy farm in Lisbon, a town in St. Lawrence County, and took a job selling farm equipment in Atlanta after college. When the farm next to his parents’ came up for sale, he and his now-wife, Carmen, jumped on it after only a month-and-a-half of dating — Gendebien joked that he “didn’t even know what side of the sink she put her toothbrush on.”
Since then, the couple has built the farm into a 500-cattle operation. Gendebien serves on the board of the Agri-Mark dairy cooperative. He spent three terms on the Lisbon Central School District Board of Education before resigning to take a job coaching basketball in the district. Gendebien said he had long considered running for office but planned to wait until his three sons were out of the house. His youngest, still a senior in high school, gave his blessing once Stefanik was tapped to serve in Trump’s cabinet.
“Noah said, ‘Dad, go for it. It’s OK if you miss a couple track meets this spring,’” Gendebien recalled. “After that meeting, I felt OK. We’re unified as a family — let’s go for it. This is a wonderful opportunity to represent the North Country the way it should be represented.”
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Gendebien hopes to be the “farmer in the room” during discussions about policy that impacts the district, which is home to more than 6,000 farms. He pointed specifically to immigration and tariffs as issues that have a direct effect on the business of farmers in the North Country. Gendebien said he would also prioritize securing more affordable health care for NY-21’s many self-employed farmers and entrepreneurs.
To win the chairs’ nomination, Gendebien beat out nine other candidates — including cannabis tax attorney Paula Collins, who unsuccessfully challenged Stefanik for the seat last November. Gendebien has already brought in an impressive early donation haul, raising more than $700,000 from more than 20,000 individual donors. He also broke the first-week fundraising record for a Democrat in the district by receiving $178,000.
“As a husband, father, farmer, small business owner and former school board member, Blake will fight to lower costs and secure our borders,” the Democratic chairs wrote in a joint statement. “An outsider to the political arena, Blake Gendebien embodies the voice and grit that distinguishes this district.”
Franklin County Republican Chair Jason Ellis said he did not expect the Democrats’ announcement to affect the Republican selection process — they’re continuing to follow their process separately as they await Stefanik’s resignation. He also said the chairs had been given no insight as to when the vacancy might occur.
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At least six candidates are still in the running for the Republican nomination, including Assemblyman Chris Tague, state Sen. Dan Stec and former congressional candidate Liz Joy. Dark horse candidate Anthony Constantino, the CEO of Sticker Mule, has threatened to primary a Republican incumbent for the seat in 2026 if he’s not chosen as the nominee. The announcement prompted a public spat with Rensselaer County Executive and fellow congressional hopeful Steve McLaughlin, who called Constantino a “spoiled brat” in a post on X.
I wish Mr. Gendebien a successful campaign!!
Let’s flip this seat!
Mr. Gendebien has the qualities important to the district’s constituents. He knows them, shares a lifestyle and cares about their well-being. Support him. He will be supporting you.