Anthony Constantino: A Symbol of MAGA Politics in New York

The election is still months away. Yet the bitter race for New York’s vast 21st Congressional District already feels like a verdict. It is a verdict on what we reward in our politics and what we have become. The contest between millionaire sticker magnate Anthony Constantino and dairy farmer Blake Gendebien is a stark distillation of America’s current political choice. It asks whether a district known for its pragmatic moderation will embrace a candidate who embodies the most aggressive performative politics of the MAGA era.

Anthony Constantino won a contentious Republican primary earlier this year. He did so with the explicit backing of former President Donald Trump, who instructed local Republicans to bypass a more conventional state legislator. In many ways, Constantino is a pure political product of the Trump era. His public persona is built on theatrical insult. He labels his opponents “corrupt pieces of shit” and derides reporters as “dipshits.” His campaign rhetoric mirrors the former president’s style of personal grievance and perpetual combat.

His devotion to Trump is his central campaign theme. He released a ten-song rap video tribute to the former president. The opening track, “Thank You Donald Trump,” repeats the former president’s name like a mantra. The video features AI-generated imagery of a globally adored Trump, a vision starkly at odds with international polling data. A June 2024 Pew Research Center survey found America’s global reputation has continued to decline. In Canada, which shares a long border with Constantino’s district, favorability of the U.S. sits at a historic low. This diplomatic erosion has tangible local consequences. The very trade policies Constantino champions have harmed North Country businesses reliant on cross-border commerce.

Yet his platform is unwavering. He promises to “work with President Trump to stop drugs, crime, terrorism, and low-wage labor from crossing our northern border.” This framing, which treats a close ally as a hostile threat, exemplifies a politics divorced from pragmatic governance. It is a politics of emotion. His campaign recently featured a video where he prints stickers giving people an “R-word pass.” This calculated coarseness is his brand. Disbarred former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani endorsed him, calling Constantino “exactly the kind of person we need involved in politics.” The statement reveals much about the current state of the Republican Party.

His opponent offers a different portrait. Blake Gendebien is a third-generation dairy farmer from the district’s northwestern corner. He runs Twin Mill Farms with his wife and three sons. His biography speaks to a life of tangible work. “Years at a time, I was out the door at 3:30 a.m., 7 days a week, to milk our cows or feed our herd,” he writes. He was elected by his peers to serve as Vice Chair of the Cooperative Board of Agri-Mark. His policy focus reflects that ground-level experience. He prioritizes lowering costs by avoiding trade wars with Canada and fighting to keep rural hospitals open. He is endorsed by groups like Third Act, a coalition of older Americans focused on defending democratic norms.

To Constantino, Gendebien is a “far left puppet” and “effeminate.” This tactic mirrors national Republican strategies. It aims to provoke and demean rather than debate substance. The charge seems particularly incongruous against a lifelong farmer and father of three. It reveals a campaign built on cultural caricature, not engagement with a neighbor’s actual life.

The district itself holds the key. NY-21 is the largest in the state, covering the Adirondacks and stretching to Saratoga Springs. It was long represented by moderate Republicans. Its current representative, Elise Stefanik, initially ran as one. She later transformed into a fervent Trump loyalist, a shift that nearly delivered her the UN Ambassador post. Her political journey is a roadmap Constantino seems eager to follow. The district’s character, however, may be changing. Travel its backroads today and you see Confederate flags flying—a jarring sight in a region steeped in abolitionist history. The town of North Elba, where John Brown is buried, lies within its borders.

The question for November is which legacy wins out. Is it the legacy of pragmatic problem-solving born of hard work in a tough landscape? Or is it the new legacy of performative anger and national culture war politics imported into local life? The little available polling suggests a competitive race. Yet Gendebien faces the immense financial advantage of a self-funding millionaire opponent. He also faces the constant noise of an information ecosystem that rewards outrage.

I have spent much of my life in this district. I know its people to be generally sensible and grounded. Their daily lives revolve around real things—milk prices, hospital access, the weather. The spectacle of Anthony Constantino feels alien to that world. But politics is no longer just local. It is a national show where the loudest and most abrasive often win the spotlight. This election will test whether that show can still be canceled by quiet, steady resolve. The result will tell us not just about the North Country but about the direction of the country itself.

• Anthony Constantino is a sticker magnate.
• Blake Gendebien is a dairy farmer.
• Constantino won a contentious Republican primary.
• Gendebien prioritizes lowering costs and rural hospital access.
• The district has a history of moderate Republican representation.
• There is a growing cultural divide in the district.