The NY-21 Democratic Primary Is 12 Days Away. Here Is What You Need to Know.
The debate premieres tonight on the CBS6 Albany YouTube channel. The televised version airs Monday, June 15. The primary is June 23. Here is where the race stands.
The seat
Elise Stefanik represented NY-21 for six terms before leaving for the United Nations. The district spans 15 counties across the North Country, the Adirondacks, and the Mohawk and Schoharie Valleys — one of the largest and most rural congressional districts in the Northeast. It has voted for Donald Trump three times. The last Democrat to hold the seat was Bill Owens, who served from 2009 to 2015.
The candidates
Blake Gendebien is a dairy farmer from Lisbon in St. Lawrence County. He has been running since November 2024, secured the endorsement of all 15 Democratic county chairs, and has raised nearly $4.7 million — more than 40 times what his opponent has reported. He also holds the independent Lower Costs Now party line, which means he stays on the November ballot regardless of what happens in the primary. His priorities: lowering costs for North Country families, protecting rural hospitals from Medicaid cuts, and reducing dysfunction in Washington.
Stuart Amoriell is the owner of the Pickled Pig restaurant in Lake Placid. He entered the race in December after one of his employees — a Venezuelan national he says was legally authorized to work in the United States — was stopped by ICE. He is running as a progressive, arguing that the party's repeated losses in NY-21 with moderate candidates is evidence that the centrist approach does not work. He has no third-party line: if he loses the primary, he is out of the race entirely.
The debate
Gendebien declined more than five debate invitations before agreeing to face Amoriell. The debate was held at WRGB CBS6 in Schenectady. It premieres tonight on the CBS6 Albany YouTube channel. The televised broadcast airs Monday, June 15 on CBS6.
What divides them
The core disagreement is strategic, not just ideological. Gendebien argues that winning a Republican-dominated district requires a candidate who can appeal across party lines — hence the Lower Costs Now line and the focus on cost of living and health care. Amoriell argues that the moderate playbook has been tried and failed repeatedly, and that motivating progressive voters who stay home is the only viable path to a November win.
On specific issues, Amoriell has called for removing corporate short-term rental investment money from the single-family home market — a position with direct relevance to the Lake Placid housing market. Gendebien has focused on rural hospital funding and the economic pressures facing North Country families.
What it means locally
Stuart Amoriell is a Tri-Lakes business owner. His campaign started in Lake Placid. A congressional race with a candidate rooted here is unusual. Whether he wins or loses on June 23, the issues he raised — immigration enforcement in small resort towns, housing affordability, what it costs to run a business in the Adirondacks — are Tri-Lakes issues.
How to vote
The Democratic primary is June 23. You must be registered as a Democrat to vote in it. Polls are open 6am to 9pm. To check your registration or polling location, visit voterlookup.elections.ny.gov.