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Registered independent and Conservative voters hold larger proportions of the electorate in the reconfigured 21st Congressional District, after redistricting.
Independent enrollment accounts for 24.2% of the electorate, as of June 6, compared with 22.1% in the former 21st District in November 2020, according to the state Board of Elections.
Conservative Party enrollment accounts for 2.1% of the electorate, as of June 6, compared with 1.5% in November 2020.
The Republican and Democratic parties both had diminished proportions of enrollment, after redistricting.
The Republican and Conservative parties, the two ballot lines U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, is running on in November, combined, hold 40.6% of the electorate, as of June 6, according to the state Board of Elections.
The Democratic Party, the only established party ballot line that challenger Democratic Matt Castelli is running on, holds 28.6% of the electorate.
A 12-percentage-point gap exists. Statistically, Castelli must receive significantly more votes from independents than Stefanik in order to win.
Castelli, a former CIA counterterrorism official who lives in Glens Falls, also is running on the Moderate line, an independent ballot line that his campaign established specifically for this election.
Enrollment breakdown in the new 21st District, as of June 6, is as follows: Democrat, 137,168, 28.6%; Republican, 184,953, 38.5%; Conservative, 10,190, 2.1%; Working Families, 2,693, 0.55%; other, 28,472, 5.9%; non-affiliated (independent), 116,433, 24.2%.
The other category includes those registered in the Green, Libertarian, former Independence and former SAM parties, and other political parties that do not have automatic ballot status in New York.
In other political news from the region:
A state panel investigating the limousine crash in Schoharie in 2018 that killed 20 people lacks “vital information” necessary to complete its report by an Oct. 1 deadline, said state Sen. James Tedisco, R-Glenville.
Tedisco on Wednesday called on the governor and legislative leaders to call the Legislature into special session to extend the Oct. 1 deadline for the New York State Stretch Limousine Passenger Safety Task Force to complete its report, so that the panel can review the findings of a separate state Inspector General’s Office investigation of the crash, which will not be completed by the Oct. 1 deadline.
“We need the experts on the task force to have all the information they need to evaluate what happened, what went wrong, and then give us policy recommendations to help prevent something like this from happening again,” Tedisco said in a news release. “I’m urging the governor and legislative majority leaders to come back into session and extend the deadline for this task force so they can get it right and issue a comprehensive and holistic final report that will hopefully lead to policy changes that will save lives.”
U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, announced endorsements from two police unions.
On Wednesday, the New York State Police Investigators Association, Local 4, endorsed her candidacy for reelection.
The union represents more than 2,400 active and retired detectives in the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
“Congresswoman Stefanik is an outspoken and tireless champion for law enforcement officers across New York state,” said Timothy Dymond, the union president, in a news release.
On Tuesday, the Police Benevolent Association of the New York State Troopers, a union with 6,000 members, endorsed Stefanik.
“Elise has always valued our mission of safety and law and order, and we have been able to count on her to be our champion in upstate New York and the North Country,” said Thomas Mungeer, the union’s president, in a press release.
Democrat Matt Castelli, a former CIA counterterrorism official who lives in Glens Falls, is challenging Stefanik in the 21st Congressional District.
Castelli, in a news release on Tuesday, said he is supportive of police.
“Our federal, state and local law enforcement are facing unprecedented threats: from the epidemic of gun violence that threatens our children’s lives to the rise of domestic terrorism. I will work to ensure our police have the resources necessary to protect and serve our communities,” he said.
On Friday, 53 elected officials from Warren County endorsed Stefanik.
Republican congressional candidate Liz Lemery Joy on Monday announced that the Albany local of the New York Police Benevolent Association endorsed her candidacy.
“We are confident she will support our law enforcement officers with the necessary resources, in order to better serve the people of New York’s 20th Congressional District,” said Officer Michael Delano, the local union president.
Joy, a former blogger and speaker from Schenectady, is challenging U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam.
State Sen. Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, said in a recent telephone interview that he was proud to finish in third place out of “at least two dozen competitors” in the annual Washington County Fair political celebrity cow-milking contest.
Stec is running against Democrat Jean Lapper, a certified accountant and financial planner from Queensbury, in the 45th Senate District.
Former state Sen. Elizabeth Little, R- Queensbury, has contributed $5,500 of leftover campaign funds to charity since leaving office at the end of 2019, according to campaign finance reports filed with the state Board of Elections.
Contributions were as follows: Glens Falls Hospital Foundation, $1,200 in 2021; Double H Ranch, $1,050 in 2021 and $1,300 in 2022; North Country Ministry, $500 in 2021 and $500 in 2022; and Adirondack Health Foundation, $1,000 in 2022.
Little had $3,745 left in her campaign fund as of July 15.
Maury Thompson covered local government and politics for The Post-Star for 21 years before he retired in 2017. He continues to follow regional politics as a freelance writer.
Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
Snippets of all things politics.
Democratic congressional candidate Matt Castelli accused Rep. Elise Stefanik of being hypocritical by opposing President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan when the plywood company that Stefanik’s parents own had federal pandemic assistance loans forgiven.
Get ready for an intense 21st Congressional District general election campaign filled with verbal jousting and allegations of impropriety.
Matt Castelli of Glens Falls convincingly defeated Whitehall resident Matt Putorti in Tuesday’s Democratic primary to earn the right to take on Republican U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik in the fall.
Matt Castelli defeated Matt Putorti in the NY-21 Democratic primary
Democratic congressional candidate Matt Castelli continues to be evasive about whether he supports an assault weapons ban, a defining issue in the upcoming Aug. 23 primary.
U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, criticized her two potential Democratic opponents for not holding debates prior to Tuesday’s primary.
Democratic challengers Matt Castelli and Matt Putorti both recently began airing campaign television ads, but neither candidate’s ad mentions the Aug. 23 primary or mentions his primary opponent.
Maury Thompson covered local government and politics for The Post-Star for 21 years before he retired in 2017. He continues to follow regional politics as a freelance writer.
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