Propaganda Loves You: Who’s Running for Congress in New York’s 21st District (2026)

Hosts Kodie, Arthur, and Joe, introduce a new focus on local races through an informative and propaganda lens, starting with New York’s 21st congressional district ahead of 2026. After brief personal updates and a true/false history quiz tied to their upcoming book series on Minority Rule, they outline NY-21’s geography, rural character, R+10 Cook PVI, and history from Bill Owens’ 2009 win amid a GOP split to Elise Stefanik’s tenure and past power-holder Bertrand Snell. They review two Democratic primary candidates—Blake Gendebien farming-and-community narrative and Stuart Amaral’s more detailed issue-focused approach—and two Republicans: Assemblyman Robert Smullen, whose debate included discussion of a 2018 felony tax fraud guilty plea, and Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino, a Trump-endorsed self-funder with highly personal and pro-Trump messaging. They note upcoming debates, limited polling, and plans to follow the primaries and messaging.

00:00 Cold Open Banter

00:44 Show Intro and Catch Up

03:37 True False Icebreaker

07:06 NY 21 District Overview

08:18 Seat History and Stefanik Era

11:18 Flip Chances and Strategy Talk

16:44 Democrats Blake Profile

21:51 Democrats Stuart Profile

23:38 Republicans Smullen Profile

34:05 Republicans Constantino Profile

40:52 Polls Wrap and Outro

Resources for this episode -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XAtnqjuixI - Republican Primary Debate 2021

https://cbs6albany.com/news/local/cbs6-to-host-ny-21-gop-primary-debate-constantino-agrees-to-participate-sticker-mule-smullen-stefanik-republican

https://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/53490/20260528/ny-21-both-republican-and-democratic-candidates-will-debate-before-the-primary

Candidate Pages -

https://blakegendebienforcongress.com/meet-blake/

https://www.constantino.com/about/

https://www.amoriell.com/about

https://www.robertsmullenforcongress.com/about