NY-21 Democratic Candidate Blake Gendebien loses independent line in wake of Board of Elections ruling that invalidated over 500 signatures

Democratic Candidate for New York’s 21st Congressional District Blake Gendebien has lost his Independent Party Line for the upcoming mid-term election this November.

This development is according to reporting via The Daily Gazette.

Gendebien, who is a dairy farmer from the North County and will represent the Democratic party in the fight for NY-21, is set to face off with Trump endorsed Anthony Constantino, who will represent the Republican and Independent Taxpayer Rights line.

This all has come to light while New York State Assemblyman Robert Smullen has officially dropped his pursuit of the Conservative Party Line after losing to Constantino in the June Primary Election.

In summary, New York State law requires a threshold of at-least 3,500 signatures for a candidate to secure an independent party line.

It is reported that Gendebien collected 3,801 signatures to appear on the Independent Lower Costs Now Party Line.

However, Constantino’s campaign team challenged hundreds of signatures collected by Gendebien and according to a July 2 ruling from the state’s Board of Elections, 563 of them were deemed invalid, leaving the Democratic candidate just short of the minimal requirement.

For comparison, Constantino managed to snag over 9,200 signatures for his Independent Party Line.

"The fact that the candidate was unable to meet the legally required minimum number of valid signatures demonstrates how little actual support he has in the 21st Congressional District,” said Constantino’s elections attorney, Joe Burns.

On the other hand, Gendebien says that Constanino is “worried” about the momentum that his Democratic campaign has gained. “Instead of making his case to voters, he's turning to legal challenges in an attempt to stop our campaign,” Gendebien told reporters.

The 2026 fall election will take place on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

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