PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (WCAX) – With just over a month until Election Day, congressional candidates looking to replace Elise Stefanik in New York’s 21st District are making their final pitches to voters on key issues facing the North Country.
For the first time in more than a decade, New York’s 21st District is up for grabs. It is a heated race between Democrat Blake Gendebien, a dairy farmer, and Republican Anthony Constantino, a business owner.
“I am a proud Democrat; I am a conservative Democrat; I am a free-market capitalist, and I think we need to focus on what’s best for New York’s 21st District,” Gendebien said.
“I am an objective thinker more than anything. I am an objective thinker that has the utilitarian perspective that you want to do the greatest number of good for the greatest number of people, and that’s the way I view politics, and that’s the way I approach politics,” Constantino said.
While they disagree on many issues, both candidates cite improving rural healthcare as a top priority, though their plans differ. Constantino wants to expand remote access to care, like telehealth, while Gendebien proposes expanding maternity care and improving access for troops at Fort Drum.
The war with Iran is another hot-button issue this election cycle. Gendebien believes Congress should decide on military action. “Don’t you think it’s time that our rural legislators have a vote or a say before we get into international conflicts that put our young people’s lives at risk and disproportionately drive up costs for all of us?” Gendebien said.
Constantino approves of President Donald Trump’s handling of the war. “If we show weakness that emboldens them, so we have to have the president’s back. We have to put our nation’s military geniuses to work and figure out how to bring this to a successful resolution,” Constantino said.
Reporter Alek LaShomb: Would you like Congress to have a say, though, on whether we are doing this?
Anthony Constantino: I think it is going to weaken the president’s negotiating hand. If we do that, it is going to make the war get drawn out longer.
On artificial intelligence, Gendebien says guardrails are necessary. “I think we need to make sure it can’t escape and create serious national security problems,” he said.
Constantino did not indicate his stance on AI regulation, but he does disagree with New York’s one-year moratorium on AI data centers. “You should be skeptical. You don’t just want to put a data center in a residential neighborhood, but banning them outright, that is a mistake for New York state. People on a local basis should be able to decide if it makes sense or not,” Constantino said.
It is unclear whether the candidates will debate before Election Day. Constantino accepted an invitation from sister station WRGB in Albany, but Gendebien has declined the request as of Friday afternoon.
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