Trump-Endorsed Newcomer Challenges Establishment Republican in New York Congressional Primary
Anthony Constantino, a political newcomer and flamboyant Trump supporter, is challenging state Assembly Member Robert Smullen in the June 23 Republican primary to fill Elise Stefanik's vacant congressional seat in upstate New York. Constantino has earned a personal endorsement from Trump despite being shunned by local and state GOP officials, who overwhelmingly back Smullen, a 24-year Marine Corps veteran. The race is being watched as a test of whether Trump's personal endorsement can override the preferences of the party establishment in a solidly Republican district.
The Republican primary in New York's 21st Congressional District, set for June 23, pits Anthony Constantino — a sticker-company entrepreneur known for a giant pro-Trump sign, a hip-hop album praising the president, and a bronze Trump statue he gifted at Mar-a-Lago — against Robert Smullen, a former Marine Corps colonel and seven-year state Assembly member. Trump personally endorsed Constantino, citing support from figures like Rudy Giuliani and Roger Stone, while local GOP committees, the state Republican chair, and the state Conservative Party have lined up behind Smullen. Smullen emphasizes his military record, three tours in Afghanistan, legislative experience, and his own Trump ties, including a 2018 White House Fellows appointment and attendance at both Trump inaugurations. Constantino has attacked Smullen with the nickname 'Slimebob' and framed him as a 'Trump hater,' while Smullen has countered by launching a website highlighting Constantino's past Democratic voter registration. The largely rural district, which Stefanik won by 24 points, has a voter base of registered Republicans outnumbering Democrats 215,000 to 134,000, skewing older, white, and working-class. Stefanik's seat opened after she suspended her gubernatorial campaign and announced she would not seek reelection, following Trump's withdrawal of her UN ambassador nomination over concerns about the House majority.
What's missing
No polling data is provided to indicate where primary voters currently stand between the two candidates, and fundraising figures for each campaign are absent, leaving the competitive landscape difficult to assess quantitatively.
What different sources said
- AP NewsCenter
Can the man behind a giant pro-Trump sign ride the president’s praise to Congress?
- ABC News PoliticsCenter
Can the man behind a giant pro-Trump sign ride the president’s praise to Congress?
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