New York Democrats have settled on dairy farmer Blake Gendebien to run for Rep. Elise Stefanik’s (R-NY) seat in the special election that will take place in the likelihood that she is confirmed to the Trump administration.
Stefanik is expected to be confirmed as President Donald Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, and a special election will be called after she vacates her seat in New York’s 21st Congressional District.
Gendebien thanked the 15 Democratic chairs that unanimously selected him to represent the district, saying they ran a “thoughtful” process that “brought out the best in each of us at a particularly challenging time.”
“No one was expecting a special election, but they stepped up,” Gendebien said. “This is just the beginning. I’m not going to stop working until we win and can make life in the North Country a whole lot better and a whole lot more affordable.”
New York Republicans have not yet chosen their candidate to face Gendebien. Whomever they choose will have the advantage of running in the heavily red district that elected Stefanik to six straight terms.
Gendebien’s campaign webpage says he is running because the “people who are representing us in Washington” are out of touch.
“Not enough of the people who are supposed to be representing us in Washington have calluses on their hands or know what it means to put in a real day’s work,” the page says. “Out-of-touch politicians on both sides of the aisle spend too much time fighting with each other and jockeying for power.”
“But on the farm, when you’re making small square bales of hay, milking cows, or shoveling stalls, you don’t ask the person next to you which party they belong to, you just get to work,” it adds. “That’s exactly what I’ll do.”
The Democratic leadership that chose Gendebien said they did so because he “embodies the voice and grit that distinguishes this district.”
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New York GOP Chairman Ed Cox believes they made a lackluster choice.
“Democrats didn’t do their homework when they selected Blake Gendebien and his catastrophic statements,” he said. “Republicans will easily hold this seat in the upcoming special election, because the North Country is unquestionably Trump Country.”
