NY Primary wins for Gendebien, Constantino, DiNapoli

PLATTSBURGH | North Country dairy farmer Blake Gendebien won the Democratic primary race for New York's 21st Congressional District, besting Stuart Amoriell, a Lake Placid businessman, by 30 points. State Board of Elections data was not available online early June 24, but reports from 3 a.m. with 95 percent of District 21 votes counted, showed Gendebien at 15,186 to 8,189 votes for Amoriell. Gendebien won all 15 counties in the district. He set a 10 percent margin in Clinton County, an 11 percent margin in Essex County and a 33 percent margin in Warren County. In the Republican camp, Amsterdam business owner Anthony Constantino bested Robert Smullen, a state assembly member with both GOP and Conservative Party endorsements. With 95 percent of the vote counted in the early morning hours, Constantino had tallied 26,565 votes to 18,028 for Smullen, district-wide. Smullen led voting in Herkimer and Hamilton counties. Constantino won over Clinton County Republicans with an 18-point margin, and captured the Republican primary vote in Warren and Essex counties with a margin pushed over 20 points. State Republican Committee Chairman Ed Cox issued a statement Tuesday night to the district's Republican voters: "Republican primary voters have spoken and we look forward to working together to send Anthony Constantino to Congress." Smullen holds standing on the Nov. 3 General Election ballot as the Conservative Party candidate. DINAPOLI WINS DEM CHOICE FOR COMPTROLLER In the race for State Comptroller, incumbent Thomas P. DiNapoli faced two contenders for the Democratic party line. Unofficial results early Wednesday showed DiNapoli won handily with 61 percent of the vote. In Clinton County, DiNapoli earned 77 percent of party voters. MONETTE WINS CITY WARD 5 DEM SPOT In local election primaries, City of Plattsburgh Ward 5 Councilor David Monette topped primary contender Martin Shaw by about 7 percent. Earning 121 votes from the ward's two districts to 106 for Shaw. Monette will seek reelection to Common Council on the Democratic line in November. Primary elections are decided by party voters, and polls do not involve the independent or "no party" electorate. Election Day is Nov. 3. CONCESSIONS IN THE 21ST Smullen spoke to television reporters late on Primary Election night, congratulating Constantino. A state Assembly member, Smullen said he is grateful to all of his supporters in the Republican and Conservative parties and wants to make sure the path forward is very clearly defined. "I am on the Conservative line in November, and we're going to assess in the coming days what the path forward is," he said. "I want to say thank you to all of the supporters out there to make sure that they know that I, as a servant leader, appreciate everything that they've done for me." Smullen said he will continue to serve in his role as District 118 assembly member. In conceding the Democratic primary win to Gendebien, Amoriell encouraged his supporters not to lose hope, urging them to come together in November. Amoriell drew his words from a legacy of social change. "Hope is rooted in a simple but powerful belief: that although we may sometimes stumble and fall short of our goal, what sustains us is our enduring commitment to the idea that tomorrow can be better than today. ... The great battles of this country were never won in a single day. The suffragists who marched and were arrested and were ridiculed did not see the Nineteenth Amendment in their lifetimes. The men and women who sat at lunch counters and crossed bridges and filled the jails of Birmingham did not dismantle segregation overnight. But each march, each act of courage, each refusal to accept things as they were, they moved the country forward. The arc bent, even when no single hand could feel it bending. ... "I am calling on every one of you who walked with me on this journey to come together and support Blake as the winner of this race. Not because politics demands it, but because the future we want demands it," Amoriell said in remarks shared via social media. New York Congressional District 21 results will be posted on the state Board of Election website: https://results.elections.ny.gov/contest/5708

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NY Primary wins for Gendebien, Constantino, DiNapoli

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