QUEENSBURY — A seasoned politician in the North Country political arena is making his ambitions crystal clear across the media market.
State Sen. Daniel G. Stec, R-Queensbury, has spent days speaking across the media market since formally announcing his interest in running for the 21st Congressional District.
The seat is set to soon be vacated by U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Saratoga, as she pursues a nomination to serve as United Nations ambassador in the upcoming Trump administration. Once she leaves office, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will have 10 days to trigger a special election within a 90-day span.
Stec will have to win over Republican leaders from a plurality of 15 counties to make the ballot once a special election begins. He’s currently marketing himself as the most winnable choice in a crowded field of potential contenders while positioning himself close to President-elect Trump’s politics.
“There’s no daylight between Donald Trump and me when it comes to moving forward with his agenda,” Stec said on FOX and Friends Weekend this past weekend. “And again, I want to make sure that we keep the seat so that we can pursue the mandate that he was given by not only the voters of this congressional district but the voters across the country.”
In recent days, Stec has spoken about his interest to Watertown-based WWNY, NEWS10 ABC and Northeast Public Radio. He didn’t immediately respond to a request for an interview with the Daily Gazette Family of Newspapers on Monday.
Stec’s consideration for the office wasn’t a secret before he formally cemented a bid for the district on Christmas Eve. He told Sun Community News on Nov. 12: “I’m very flattered about this encouragement, but it’s early yet to make a decision — but it’s something I would have to consider because so many people have encouraged me.”
Climbing the political ladder, the U.S. Navy veteran was first elected to the Queensbury Town Board in 2000 before serving as a town supervisor. He briefly considered a run for Congress in 2010, but ultimately bowed out and ran a successful bid for state Assembly instead two years later.
The four-year state senator has been consistently in elected office longer than any top-level name in the mix for the Congressional nomination, including state Assemblyman Christopher Tague and Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin.
Stec’s politics lean conservative. He currently has a 100% approval rating from the National Rifle Association, an 8% approval rating from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and a 33% approval rating from Environmental Advocates.
During the 2016 presidential election, Stec opted not to endorse Trump following the release of a video showing the former president making “inexcusable” comments towards women. He later followed up that October by saying that he would vote for Trump, but had reservations about him.
“Donald Trump is crude, in my opinion, and Hillary Clinton is corrupt. You’ve got to choose,” he told The Post-Star in 2016.
Since then, Stec has publicly warmed up to Trump. After the most recent election, he posted a photo of himself wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat and a pro-Trump shirt.
Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino, a GOP contender for the 21st Congressional District, in a Facebook post has questioned Stec’s intentions based on his comments about Trump in 2016.
Constantino in July made his support of Trump public following the former president’s attempted assassination. The entrepreneur has since started a fundraising group for Trump and even erected a sizable “VOTE FOR TRUMP” sign in Amsterdam, leading to a legal battle with the city over code violation allegations.
“[Stec] wants the very important job of Congressman so he can get the money and benefits then he will, I am sure, promptly go hide in the corner again,” Constantino said.
During Stec’s most recent Fox News interview, FOX and Friends Weekend co-host Will Cain appeared to test the state senator’s Trumpian bonafides ranging from 2016 to present. Stec pushed back.
“Because you said you did in 2024, Donald Trump put out on Truth Social a list of Republicans that endorsed him — I did not see your name on that list,” Cain said.
“I don’t know — I don’t know who or how that list got generated,” Stec responded. “I issued a press release endorsing Donald Trump. It’s on my Facebook page. Anyone can go look at it.”
Stec endorsed Trump on June 28. This came after the GOP primaries and the former president’s first debate with President Joseph Biden on CNN.
Backing Trump is a commonality among the pack of GOP hopefuls, albeit the rate of public adulation varies from candidate to candidate. Key ideological differences are far less apparent at this juncture.
For Democrats, looming is an open question of how much ideology, if at all, moves the needle. Since 2014, Democratic candidates have tried to woo voters in the heavily GOP district by appealing to a mass audience.
The closest recent election was in 2018 when Democrat Tedra Cobb lost to Stefanik, 131,981-99,791. That’s still nearly a roughly 14-point difference.
In the last election, self-described moderate and cannabis tax attorney Paula Collins ran against Stefanik in November and lost, 215,996-132,447. That’s about a 24-point difference.
Collins has put her name back in the ring for the upcoming special election. She faces competition against at least eight possible contenders, including former 24th Congressional District candidate Steve Holden, Jay Town Councilman Knut Sauer and St. Lawrence County farmer Blake Gendebien.
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