November 8th, 2023
Republicans across New York and NY-21 earned historic victories in last night’s local and county elections – handily defending Republican incumbents and winning upset victories in seats that Democrats have held for decades. Across the 15 counties and 235 towns that make up the 21st Congressional District, Republican voters yet again turned out to reject longtime Democratic incumbents and protect Republican strongholds! We are proud to report that all 15 counties in NY-21 are controlled by strong Republican leadership – this is a significant shift from when Chairwoman Stefanik first took office.
Notable losses for NY-21 Democrats include the loss of the Mayor’s seat in the City of Little Falls, where a Republican has not won in 30 years. The Republican candidate Deborah Kaufman, with the strong support of Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, defeated Democrat Justin Welczyko with over 60% of the vote, overperforming Joe Biden’s 2020 performance by nearly 10%. Deborah will serve as the first female Mayor of the City in history.
In Gloversville’s First Ward, Constantine Orfan ousted longtime incumbent Democrat Marie Born who had been in office for over a decade. In Warren County, Republican Kevin Bean defeated Democrat incumbent Mark Smith for Johnsburg Town Supervisor. In the Town of Chester, Republican John Maday Sr. unseated incumbent Town Supervisor Craig Leggett.
Jefferson County voters additionally flipped two more important positions – the County Treasurer’s post will be taken over by a longtime friend of Team Elise, Supervisor Brian Peck, who defeated incumbent Treasurer Democrat Dorena Kimball. In Alexandria Bay, Michael Putnam flipped the mayor’s seat, defeating Democrat incumbent Steven Jarvis.
In total, 26 new Republican and Conservative candidates were elected into county-wide, county legislature, supervisor, and mayoral seats across the district where Republican incumbents retired their posts. Republicans also made significant strides in protecting a conservative Upstate judiciary. In both the 4th Judicial District and 5th Judicial District Supreme Court races, Republican and Conservative Party-backed candidates were victorious. Judge Paul Davenport will serve as the newest addition to the 4th JD Supreme Court, defeating his Democrat opponent with over 58% of the vote in the sprawling judicial district encompassing 11 counties. In the 5th JD covering six Upstate NY counties, Jean Marie Westlake and Peter Rayhill handily defeated the Working Families Party nominee.
In neighboring cities in the Capitol Region and Central New York, House GOP Chairwoman Elise Stefanik maintains strong favorable ratings in both the Albany and Utica media markets which continue to cover her daily. Republicans decidedly defeated Democrats, flipping control of 3 major cities. Mayor-Elect John Safford defeated Democrat incumbent Ron Kim by nearly 9% in Saratoga Springs, flipping the seat for the first time in a decade. Republicans also flipped the City of Troy where Carmella Mantello will be the first woman ever to serve as Mayor and Joe Biden previously won by over 30%! In addition, Mike Galime flipped the Mayor’s seat in the City of Utica and will serve as the first Republican Mayor in 20 years. Joe Biden previously won the city of Utica by over 15%.
Elsewhere in the state, NY Republicans demonstrated continued strength and momentum as they turned out in droves to ratchet up wins. Ed Romaine picked up the Suffolk County Executive Seat, defeating incumbent Democrat Steve Bellone who served over a decade in office. Former NYS Senator Sue Serino won the Dutchess County Executive seat by handily defeating her Democrat opponent with over 9,000 votes.
In addition, Republicans had a Red Wave in Nassau County where the GOP now holds all cities and towns. These wins, in addition to the wins in Suffolk, and the representation of Long Island in the US House of Representatives by the GOP, solidifies Long Island as a Republican stronghold and bastion.
Team Elise is encouraged and emboldened by these results. Voters across New York’s 21st District continue to make it clear they support Republicans’ focus on results, not Democrats and their Far Left radical out-of-touch policies on crime, the border, and the economy. We are honored to have been able to support candidates and committees across the district, and we are eager to get to work to deliver yet another landslide win in 2024 with President Trump at the top of the ticket.
Republicans across Upstate New York and the North Country are unified and engaged, and we feel strongly that President Trump, Congresswoman Stefanik, our State Senators, and Assemblymembers will win by sweeping margins in 2024. Chairwoman Elise Stefanik and Team Elise have full confidence in the New York GOP. We are proud to work directly with the State Committee to deliver victories for Republicans throughout New York. Chairwoman Stefanik is committed to continuing to make significant investments through her House GOP NY Battleground Fund by investing resources, staff, and capital across New York as we look to 2024 to help protect Republican Congressional GOP incumbents to hold the GOP Majority in Congress.
We have never been better positioned to protect and expand our House GOP Majority in New York in the coming election.
Alex DeGrasse
Team Elise Executive Director
