A MAGA Rapper And ‘Conservative’ Democratic Dairy Farmer Are In A Tight Race In New York’s ‘North Country’ 

This story was produced in partnership with the American Stories Initiative, a student journalism program launched by the Center for American Studies at Columbia University. 

One of the races that could reshape the congressional map next week involves a rapper, a dairy farmer, and a would-be Trump administration official whose effort to join the Cabinet went down in flames. The contest is taking place in a corner of northern New York that has been red for more than a decade. However, along with much of the rest of the country, the seat is now showing signs of a blue shift. 

Blake Gendebien, the Democratic nominee in New York’s 21st Congressional District, has helped drive that change with a pitch that offers clear appeal for Republican voters. 

“I’m a conservative, old school Democrat,” Gendebien told TPM in an interview last week. 

Gendebien is a North Country native and second-generation dairy farmer. Along with distancing himself from his party’s progressive wing, Gendebien has zeroed in on the pressures that follow voters home, from rising costs to struggling hospitals, and a trade war that has strained relationships along the Canadian border, which cuts across the district’s northern edge. Gendebien faults both Democrats and Republicans for the mounting pressures on the people he hopes to represent.  

“Our voters are looking for a pragmatic reflection of the district that will push back on either party, that will do the things that we need to do,” he said, later adding, “People are mad that we don’t have a voice.”

That message seems to be resonating. An October 9 Siena poll put Gendebien ahead of Republican Anthony Constantino, 46% to 42%, within the margin of error. Twenty-one percent of Republicans supported him, even as a majority of the voters polled indicated they want the GOP to retain control of Congress. 

While Gendebien’s bipartisan appeal is one reason the race has tightened, Constantino’s unconventional candidacy has also been a tumultuous one. 

Constantino, who is the CEO of the merch company Sticker Mule, is counting on high turnout from Republicans still on board the Trump train as the president’s approval has reached historic lows. Even before the president endorsed Constantino in April, the Sticker Mule CEO had already broadcast his loyalty with a 100-foot “Vote Trump” sign on the roof of his factory. 

Business is just one part of Constantino’s background. He’s a former boxer who’s also dabbled as a rap artist. Constantino’s campaign has been filled with social media feuds. Gendebien has also used mass layoffs that took place at Sticker Mule last year to attack Constantino’s record on jobs. In turn, Constantino has homed in on allegations of illegal dumping on Gendebien’s farm. However, the credibility of those claims has been questioned following revelations Constantino’s campaign apparently paid $28,000 to a woman who was romantically involved with the source of the accusations. Constantino did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this story. 

What Gendebien derisively refers to as a “rubber stamp” for the president, Constantino seems to wear as a badge of honor. In December, he released a rap album titled “Thank You President Trump,” which sang the president’s praises for being, among other things, a “family man” and universally beloved.

“In the Middle East they love Donald, Donald Trump,” Constantino raps on the track “Trump.” “Met some Africans, they love Donald, Donald Trump.” 

Constantino hasn’t shied away from using the mic to take aim at political opponents either. While he has yet to namecheck Gendebien in an album, the Republican did release a diss track targeting New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani in 2025. 

“Terrorists aren’t flying planes into buildings anymore, they’re coming at us different now,” Constantino raps in the opening verse before mispronouncing Mamdani’s last name.

In addition to Trump, Constantino has also garnered endorsements from the National Rifle Association, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and, more curiously, Mike Tyson. According to Constantino’s campaign, his past experience in the ring appealed to the former World Heavyweight Champion and convicted rapist. 

Prior to the current campaign, voters in the North Country sent another Trump loyalist, Elise Stefanik, to Capitol Hill six times. Gendebien first prepared to run last year after the president tapped Stefanik as ambassador to the United Nations, setting up a special election in the district. However, Stefanik soon ran into her own issues seemingly exacerbated by Trump’s unpopularity and the divisions within his party. Trump ultimately withdrew Stefanik’s nomination, citing the need to protect a slim Republican majority in the House. 

“I don’t want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise’s seat,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial in March 2025. “The people love Elise and, with her, we have nothing to worry about come Election Day.” 

Stefanik, who had clashed with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, then decided to give up the seat and run for governor. She abandoned that bid amid polling that showed her in a tight primary race with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who now seems set to lose to Democratic incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul by a wide margin.  

Stefanik, who initially won her seat as a moderate, tied herself to Trump in more recent years. As she ended her run for the governor’s mansion, the congresswoman also announced she would not run for re-election, citing a desire to spend more time with her children. That paved the way for Constantino. 

Gendebien called Stefanik “incredibly unpopular” and said she hasn’t “been back” in the district since September 2025.

“When you have a median income in the district that’s around $35,000, none of us get paid to sit around and do nothing,” Gendebien said. “I don’t know anybody that does.” 

Despite his own qualms with Stefanik, Gendebien is making sure not to shut out residents who have supported the previous incumbent or other prominent Republicans in the past. Several of his campaign ads feature six-time Stefanik and three-time Trump voters pledging to support him.

“It’s really important that we don’t point the finger at somebody for doing something wrong, but that we talk about what we can do right,” Gendebien told TPM. 

He has also embraced some more conservative positions. In our conversation, Gendebien touted his support for the Second Amendment. And while many Democrats are calling for ICE to be abolished, Gendebien has taken a more moderate stance. 

“ICE needs to be held to the same standards as every other law enforcement agency in the United States,” Gendebien said.

Mirroring other aspects of his campaign, he framed the need for “common sense immigration reform” as primarily an economic issue. Farms, hospitals, and hospitality businesses need workers, the dairy farmer argued. 

“We need to make it harder to get here illegally, but we also need to streamline the legal process so that farmers have the labor that we need,” Gendebien said. 

Gendebien’s more conservative stance on ICE still may not have swayed voters in the typically red district. The Siena poll found undocumented immigration is the one issue where he is lagging behind Constantino. 

His willingness to criticize reaches his own party, too. While Gendebien told TPM that he would support Hochul, which was a change from his previous demurring on the governor’s race, he also said that he would “push back” on “really bad policies.” Gendebien specifically cited legislation Hochul has signed to require all new school bus purchases to be zero emissions vehicles by 2027. Electric school buses, Gendebien argued, aren’t practical for transporting students in North Country schools who often have to travel long distances in frigid conditions to attend class and participate in extracurriculars. 

“We need more voices from rural America that can say, ‘Hey, we understand what you’re thinking here, but it’s just not time and it’s only going to drive up costs for us,’” Gendebien explained. 

According to Gendebien, Constantino isn’t capable of representing rural voters in this way. As of late October, the Republican has self-financed his election bid with more than double the roughly $7.6 million that Gendebien has raised. Gendebien asserted that level of personal wealth demonstrates how out of touch the CEO is with average voters in the district. 

“Carmen and I, when our kids were little, we argued over whether or not we could afford a treat on top of the grocery bill, because times were tough,” Gendebien said. “ So many families share that experience, but Constantino, my opponent, put $17 million into this race. I don’t think he could ever understand that type of pressure that families are going through.”

Though Gendebien’s bipartisan outreach has tightened the race, the remaining question is whether enough Republicans will get behind him to flip the seat. For his part, Gendebien believes the decision is a simple one.

 “If they want to drive down costs from the farm gate to the dinner plate, my campaign is for them. It’s not that complicated.”