Ken Estes
Ken Estes (independent) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent New York's 24th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the general election scheduled on November 3, 2026.[source]
Estes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Ken Estes graduated from Caledonia-Mumford Central High School. He earned an associate degree from the State University of New York, Morrisville in 1988, a bachelor's degree from Cornell University in 1991, and a graduate degree from Penn State University in 2025. His career experience includes working as an education specialist.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: New York's 24th Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on June 23, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
General election for U.S. House New York District 24
Ken Estes (Independent), Tony Macula (Independent), and Todd Sloan (Independent) are running in the general election for U.S. House New York District 24 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
Ken Estes (Independent)  | ||
| Tony Macula (Independent) | ||
 | Todd Sloan (Independent) | |
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| = 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. | ||||
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Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. House New York District 24
Alissa Ellman (D), Steven Holden (D), and Diana Kastenbaum (D) are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New York District 24 on June 23, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Alissa Ellman | |
 | Steven Holden | |
 | Diana Kastenbaum | |
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| = 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. | ||||
Republican primary
Republican primary for U.S. House New York District 24
Incumbent Claudia Tenney (R) and John McDairmant (R) are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House New York District 24 on June 23, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Claudia Tenney | |
 | John McDairmant | |
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| = 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. | ||||
Endorsements
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Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Ken Estes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Estes' responses.
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Professionally, I serve as an Agricultural Program Manager with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Livingston County, helping farmers navigate real challenges in production, sustainability, and rural resilience. I hold a Master’s in Community and Economic Development from Penn State, with a capstone focused on building sustainable food systems for future generations. I’m running for New York’s 24th Congressional District as an independent — not because politics called me, but because my neighbors did. The people of NY-24 deserve a representative who has actually worked the soil, stretched a budget, worried about healthcare costs, and watched young families leave because housing is out of reach.
My campaign is built on four pillars: accessible healthcare, affordable housing, a sustainable food system, and a clean rural environment. My tagline is “Leadership from the Ground Up” — and I mean it literally. This district doesn’t need a career politician. It needs a neighbor who shows up.- A Sustainable Food System New York’s 24th District feeds this region — and that responsibility deserves real representation. As a seventh-generation farmer and Cornell Cooperative Extension professional, I know that a sustainable food system isn’t a slogan; it’s soil health, fair markets, farmland protection, and the next generation having a reason to stay on the land. Washington has long treated agriculture as an afterthought. I’ll bring the lived experience of someone who has planted, harvested, and stewarded this land for decades — because the decisions made in Congress directly affect what ends up on your table and whether family farms survive another generation.
- A Healthy and Sustainable Environment The creeks, forests, and open lands of NY-24 are not just scenery — they are our legacy and our lifeline. I steward a riparian buffer along a creek feeding the Genesee River because I believe conservation is a neighborly act, not a political one. Clean water, healthy soil, and thriving rural landscapes require long-term thinking that transcends election cycles. I’ll fight for environmental policies that protect working farms, rural communities, and the natural systems that have sustained Western New York for generations.
- Health and Well-Being — Not Sick-Care Our current system doesn’t promote health — it manages illness, often at devastating cost. Rural families in NY-24 are rationing medications, skipping check-ups, and going without mental health support because the system is built for profit, not people. I believe in a health and well-being system rooted in prevention, access, and community — one that meets people where they are, from farm families to small-town main streets. Washington keeps debating who pays for sick care. I want to change what we’re actually building.
I believe in a sustainable food system that keeps family farms viable and protects farmland for future generations. I believe in a clean rural environment that safeguards our waterways, soils, and working landscapes. And I believe we must replace our sick-care system with a true health and well-being system — built on prevention and access, not crisis response and profit.
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
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Candidate U.S. House New York District 24 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 2, 2026
