Race to succeed Rep. Elise Stefanik in upstate New York heats up with new challenger

New York State Sen. Dan Stec, a Republican and Navy veteran, is running for Congress.

Stec has tossed his hat in the ring to succeed Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who will vacate her seat in the House of Representatives to become the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. A special election for New York’s 21st Congressional District will take place once Stefanik officially leaves Congress.

“At the end of the day, it’s about representing the district, and for the last 12 years in Albany, I know what it means to represent the district and if I can do that in Albany I am certain I can do that in Washington,” Stec told WWNY in an interview on Dec. 24. 

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New York State Sen. Dan Stec, a Republican from North Country, is running for Congress in New York’s 21st Congressional District. (Dan Stec via Facebook)

The North Country native, whose state senate district lies within Stefanik’s congressional district, argued he is the best candidate to win the seat for Republicans because he has the highest name recognition there. 

“My argument is that I am the most electable. If we are concerned about holding this seat and the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, you want to put your most likely-to-win candidate forward and no one can compare the numbers like I do with how much of the district I already represent,” Stec told the outlet.

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Representative Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York, during a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023. President-elect Trump tapped Stefanik to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.  (Haiyun Jiang/Bloomberg)

He pointed to his record in the New York legislature and the 104,000 votes he won in the previous election for state senate, which is nearly half of the total Stefanik won in her bid for re-election, in support of his argument that he’s best positioned to defeat the Democratic candidate in the special election.

“I am proud of my track record, my resume, and my principles. I don’t have any votes that I am embarrassed that I would have to explain like maybe someone from the other side of the aisle I have worked with would have to explain,” Stec said.

WHO COULD RUN TO REPLACE STEFANIK IN THE HOUSE?

Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino is also running for the GOP nomination to succeed Stefanik.  (Paul Antonelli)

Stefanik won a sixth term to represent the district which encompasses North County, New York, but President-elect Donald Trump chose her in November to fill the U.N. ambassadorship in his new cabinet. 

In the campaign to be the Republican nominee to succeed Stefanik, Stec joins Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino, a political outsider whose claim to fame is a 100 ft. “Vote for Trump” sign he installed in upstate New York. Constantino is self-funding his campaign and has pledged $2.6 million to the effort. 

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Other Republicans mentioned as possible candidates include state Assemblymen Robert Smullen and Christopher Tague; and Rensselaer County Executive Steven McLaughlin, according to WWNY. Possible Democratic candidates include Assemblyman Billy Jones, whose state district falls just east of St. Lawrence County, as well as past unsuccessful challengers to Stefanik such as Matt Castelli and Paula Collins.

There will not be a traditional Republican primary for the special election. Instead, both the GOP and Democratic nominees will be chosen by party chairs in the district.