Anthony Constantino, the sticker magnate who erected a 12-foot-high “VOTE FOR TRUMP” sign atop his company’s headquarters, won the Republican nomination for an open House seat in New York’s North Country, according to The Associated Press.
His victory is a major blow to the state’s Republican Party, which had taken the unusual step of endorsing his opponent, Robert Smullen, a state assemblyman and former Marine. With 78 percent of the vote counted, Mr. Constantino was 18 percentage points ahead of Mr. Smullen.
An amateur rapper and onetime boxer who grew his company, Sticker Mule, into a multimillion-dollar operation, Mr. Constantino, 43, is not the average upstate Republican.
In his self-funded campaign, he has emphasized his similarities, and fealty, to President Trump, who endorsed him.
New York’s 21st Congressional District was previously represented by Elise Stefanik, another Trump ally, and is among the most conservative in the state. Mr. Trump won the district by 24 points in 2024. But while the district’s preponderance of registered Republicans would seem to provide Mr. Constantino a clear lane come November, victory is by no means assured.
In his short time in the public eye, Mr. Constantino has made enemies of many local Republicans and other party leaders. He is embroiled in a lawsuit with Gerard Kassar, the leader of the state Conservative Party, who Mr. Constantino says threatened to kill him.
The Conservative Party has provided its backing and ballot line to Mr. Smullen, potentially splitting the Republican vote come November.
Mr. Smullen has attacked Mr. Constantino, calling him unfit to hold office, and vowed to continue his campaign through the general election.
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