Blake Gendebien
Blake Gendebien (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent New York's 21st Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on June 23, 2026.[source]
Gendebien completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Blake Gendebien earned a bachelor's degree from Pennsylvania State University in 1999. His career experience includes working as a farmer and small business owner.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: New York's 21st Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on June 23, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.
General election for U.S. House New York District 21
Michael Metzgier and Christopher Schmidt are running in the general election for U.S. House New York District 21 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Michael Metzgier (American Independent Party) | ||
 | Christopher Schmidt (Independent)  | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House New York District 21
The following candidates are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New York District 21 on June 23, 2026.
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Steven Holden (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House New York District 21
Allen Caruso, Anthony Constantino, and Robert Smullen are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House New York District 21 on June 23, 2026.
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Elise Stefanik (R)
Endorsements
Gendebien received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Blake Gendebien completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gendebien's responses.
| Collapse all
Not enough of the people who are supposed to be representing us in Washington know what it means to put in a real day’s work. Out-of-touch politicians on both sides of the aisle spend too much time fighting with each other and jockeying for power. But on the farm, when you’re making small square bales of hay, milking cows, or shoveling stalls, you don’t ask the person next to you which party they belong to, you just get to work. Having grown up here, I’ve seen how Washington has neglected communities in the North Country. Over the last six years alone, our region has lost more than 700 local dairy farms, and families have been forced to leave for higher-paying jobs elsewhere – but it doesn’t have to be this way.
My goal is to be a bridge between our region and Washington. I’ll be an honest voice to uplift farmers, families, veterans, and small businesses while keeping bureaucracy in check. There is no excuse for the gridlock that has failed to deliver even the most common-sense solutions to help North Country families to not just get by – but to actually get ahead.- Affordability
Too many working families in our district are struggling to keep up with rising costs. Instead of making life more affordable, politicians in Washington are busy playing political games and catering to special interest groups. With nearly half of our community over 65 and living on fixed incomes, we need real solutions to bring prices down and make everyday essentials affordable.
As a farmer and small business owner, I know how to keep costs down at the dinner table. It starts with repealing costly and unnecessary government regulations, supporting fair trade deals, and bringing back American manufacturing. I’m committed to fighting for policies that lower costs, protect seniors, and put working families first. - Healthcare Access to quality healthcare is essential in rural communities. That’s why I will never vote to cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. We must expand access by growing tele-health services and investing in transportation options to connect patients with the care they need. We need to lower prescription drug costs to make healthcare more affordable for families and seniors, prioritize proper nutrition to support children’s health and development, and make it easier and more affordable for healthcare workers to stay in our community to meet local needs. We also must protect a woman’s right to choose and oppose new regulations that put in place total abortion bans even in cases of rape or when the life of the woman is at stake.
- Government Reform It’s obvious that the politics in Washington are broken. Money is at the root of the problem – too many politicians see elected office as a means to personal financial gain and special interest groups are more than happy to buy their votes. Our country, and NY-21, need representatives that are in D.C. to work hard for the people that elected them, not enrich themselves. I’m committed to cleaning up Washington and I will always be responsive to the voters of the North Country, not special interests. We need to end the “elected to lobbyist” pipeline and get dark money out of politics. I will be a champion for fairness, accountability, and transparency. The system is not serving the North Country - we need change.
Farms and small businesses are the backbone of our rural economy, and we need policies that help them not just survive, but thrive. As a farmer and small business owner myself, I know firsthand that we can do more to support farms and Main Street businesses.
Immigration
New York’s 21st district is a border district, and for too long politicians on both sides of the aisle have failed to deliver real immigration reform. Instead of fixing the problem, they use it as a political wedge to divide us. It’s time for serious, bipartisan solutions that actually work for our communities.
Supporting our Veterans
Rep. Joe Morelle
IBEW Local 910
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on February 8, 2026
