A special election to fill the NY-21 Congressional seat currently held by North Country Rep. Elise Stefanik hasn’t even started yet, but the list of potential candidates wanting to earn their party’s endorsement keeps growing, with at least six people publicly saying they are planning to run.

Nearly everyone who attempted to unseat Stefanik in the Nov. 5 election is running again, along with some new candidates who are joining the hunt.

For the Republican party, Anthony Constantino and Otto Miller are confirmed to be seeking the nomination.

For the Democrats, two of the candidates from the fall election are planning on running again — Paula Collins, a cannabis attorney who got 36.53% of the vote on election night, and Steve Holden, a retired army lieutenant colonel and military contractor who did not get on the primary ballot in April.

Brian Rouleau, who sought to get the Working Families Party line last time, is seeking his party’s endorsement again in this special election.

Scott Lewis, who fought in the state courts to have his name added to the ballot in November’s election and had to settle for a write-in campaign, is planning to run as an independent candidate on the Common Sense Party line in the special election.

There have been numerous other names floated as possibilities in the race — including local state senators and assemblymen — but they have not publicly declared their intentions yet. To read more about all the potential candidates for the special election, go to tinyurl.com/yuaw6etb.

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How it starts

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After Stefanik accepted President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, congressional hopefuls began scrambling to get on the ballot. But the special election cannot start until Stefanik officially files a resignation letter. This isn’t expected to happen until the Senate confirms her appointment in January.

After Stefanik submits a resignation letter, Gov. Kathy Hochul will have 10 days to issue a proclamation calling for a special election. Then, the election must be held within 70 to 80 days of the proclamation.

A special election does not run exactly like a normal election. Instead of primaries — where members of each party vote on who will represent their party on the ballot — the candidates are selected by the 15 county party chairs in the district. Major party nominations must be made within 10 days of Hochul announcing the election. Independent candidates will have 12 days to collect signatures to be nominated.

While campaigning to the public has not started in earnest yet, each potential politician is campaigning directly to their party chairs, seeking to secure their spot when the time comes.

The state’s constituted parties — Democratic, Republican, Conservative and Working Families — will select their nominees based on their party’s rules.

After the governor’s proclamation is made, the state Board of Elections will develop a special calendar for this election. Voters will be able to register up to 10 days before this election. Early voting for this election will last for nine days, and must begin 10 days before the election.

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Process

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This abbreviated election cycle will condense all the fundraising, campaigning, organizing and voting — which usually takes place over a year — into a few short months.

Warren County is the center of operations for the major parties as Warren County Republican Chair Tim McNulty and Warren County Democratic Chair Lynne Boecher are heading up the candidate selection process for their respective parties.

Having 15 county chairs in the district complicates things, Boecher said. The two special elections for other New York House seats earlier this year each only had two county chairs per party who needed to select their candidate.

NY-21 has 15 counties with 15 chairs for each party, and one of the largest districts geographically in the Eastern U.S.

“It’s crazy,” Boecher said.

She said people have been coming out of the woodwork with hopes of making a run.

McNulty said in his county alone he’s had around a dozen people interested in running for congress. Some are more serious. Others back off after realizing how much work it takes to get elected with campaigning, vetting by police and legal agencies, fundraising millions of dollars, being scrutinized by the press and the 80- to 120-hour work weeks.

Both parties are asking candidate hopefuls to send letters of intent and a resume to all 15 county chairs to be considered. Boecher has around seven or eight letters of interest so far and is in the process of reading them.

Both have promised applicants that until there’s an actual vacancy, they won’t share their names publicly.

The 15 GOP chairs plan to meet in the next few weeks to talk about the process for this election and candidate selection process.

After the special election is called, the chairs of both parties will gather in person to interview candidates and vote on who to represent their party. Their votes are weighted by the number of party members in their county.

Boecher is hoping for a unanimous vote, whomever is chosen.

McNulty told the Press-Republican that county Republican chairs will consult with Trump’s transition team and Stefanik’s team for advice on selecting a candidate.

Conservative Party state Chairman Gerard Kassar said his party has started soliciting candidates. So far, all interested candidates are Republicans looking to earn both party endorsements. Kassar said this is usually how it goes.

He said they’ve seen many acceptable candidates and he hasn’t heard of any favorites yet.

Instead of county party chairs, the Conservative party’s candidate will be chosen by its executive committee, which is made up of 55 people from around the state who each have an equal vote. Kassar said several of the committee members live within NY-21.

The Enterprise was not able to discuss the Working Family Party’s plans for nominating a candidate before deadline for this article.

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National interest

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This special election might make for a fierce battle with national interest, as, after the Nov. 5 election, the GOP holds 220 seats and the Democrats hold 215 seats. A majority in the House is 218 seats.

If NY-21 enters another race, it might be an important race for either party to earn or maintain power in the House.

According to the New York Times, Democrats immediately began assessing their chances of flipping the seat on Monday. This could make the special election a well-funded one.

With the razor-thin margin in the GOP’s favor in the House, national Democrats and Republicans are likely to pay attention to this race. Boecher hasn’t heard of any movement yet, but anticipates it when the election is announced.

If confirmed by the Senate, Stefanik’s first day on the job would be Inauguration Day — Jan. 20, 2025.