There are two candidates on local ballots in the race for the local NY-21 congressional seat — incumbent Republican Elise Stefanik and challenging Democrat Paula Collins.

The two are at odds over many major political issues, and campaigning in different ways, with Collins traveling the district and Stefanik — who is heavily favored to win — traveling other states to support her presidential candidate.

A debate between the two candidates scheduled for last month never materialized because Stefanik never responded to the invitation from a consortium of Capital Region news organizations.

Collins’ campaign recently challenged Stefanik to a debate Oct. 28 at 6:30 p.m. in Glens Falls at the Crandall Public Library. Collins said voters have been asking for one. This debate has not been solidified, though.

Multiple requests for an interview with Stefanik by the Enterprise in the past week were not answered. She has not been campaigning as hard for her seat in this election as in the past, since the district is now identified as a strong and safe Republican district. The Hill newspaper gives Stefanik a 99% chance of winning the district.

Instead, she’s been spending recent weeks on the road, campaigning for former president and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

The independently registered Scott Lewis is still fighting in court to gain access to the ballot on the Common Sense Party line. Though he is not on the ballot, he is running a write-in campaign for the NY-21 seat.

Stefanik is also on the Conservative party line. Collins is also on the Working Families party line.

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Collins’ campaign

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Collins is traveling all around the district currently, hitting population centers and small communities for events in all corners of NY-21. She said after getting a late start on her campaign, she feels more people know her, her policies and her campaign now. Her car is on course to hit 50,000 miles of travel through the campaign.

Win or lose, Collins promised she will be running for NY-21 again in 2026.

“The race for the midterms starts Nov. 6,” she said. “If I’m late for this race, I’m early for the midterms.”

If she wins, she said there will certainly be a fight to keep the seat in two years. If she loses, she feels she’s built momentum in the past couple of months that can be a foundation for future races.

She’s hoping for energy from Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris taking on the top-line ballot line to bring more votes to down-ballot Democrats like herself.

There has been no official polling for this race, so the actual figures are not known.

According to campaign finance filings at the end of September, Stefanik had around $8.5 million cash on hand, had raised just under $5 million and spent almost $6.3 million. These filings show Collins with more than $67,000 cash on hand, having raised just over $100,000 and spent a bit more than $50,000.

One of the phrases Collins has repeated often on the campaign trail was that “a vote for Stefanik is a proxy vote for Trump.”

Collins knows she’ll never get the vote of MAGA movement members. But she said she talks to Republicans who say they are voting across the aisle because they’ve lost faith in Trump or Stefanik.

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Platforms

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Stefanik has pledged “unconditional support” for Israel, demands the closing of the U.S. borders — southern and northern — amid what she calls a “border nightmare” and has been sounding the alarm on inflation driving up prices of goods and services.

Collins supports a capital gains tax to tax earnings on assets like stocks and real estate.

She said taxing billionaires and corporations can better fund the federal budget.

“The wealthiest people in the country are paying the lowest tax,” Collins said. “The American people are tired of it.”

Collins would not say if there’s any aspect of the federal budget she feels the U.S. spends too much money on.

She is a supporter of Medicare for All and said said the federal government needs a proactive effort to stop climate change.

Her role in Congress would largely rest on her committee assignments, which she said comes down to the luck of the draw. When finding committees for her to sit on, she said House leaders would probably look at her resume with work in law, taxes, cannabis and special education.