Your monthly support provides voters the knowledge they need to make confident decisions at the polls. Donate today.
Matt Castelli
Matt Castelli (Democratic Party, Moderate Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent New York's 21st Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 8, 2022. He advanced from the Democratic primary on August 23, 2022.
Castelli completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2022
See also: New York's 21st Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House New York District 21
Incumbent Elise Stefanik defeated Matt Castelli in the general election for U.S. House New York District 21 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Elise Stefanik (R / Conservative Party) | 59.1 | 168,579 |
 | Matt Castelli (D / Moderate Party)  | 40.8 | 116,421 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 95 | ||
| Total votes: 285,095 | |||
| = 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
Matt Castelli defeated Matthew Putorti in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New York District 21 on August 23, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Matt Castelli | 80.8 | 19,319 |
 | Matthew Putorti | 18.9 | 4,528 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 52 | ||
| Total votes: 23,899 | |||
| = 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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Ezra Watson (D)
- Bridie Farrell (D)
- Keith Sherrill (D)
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Elise Stefanik advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House New York District 21.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Lonny Koons (R)
Conservative Party primary election
The Conservative Party primary election was canceled. Incumbent Elise Stefanik advanced from the Conservative Party primary for U.S. House New York District 21.
Endorsements
To view Castelli's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.
Campaign themes
2022
Video for Ballotpedia
| Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released Jul 26, 2022 |
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Matt Castelli completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Castelli's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
After the 9/11 attacks, Matt became a CIA Officer, where he led intelligence collection and counterterrorism operations; serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. Matt’s team hunted down some of the world’s most dangerous terrorists, working within the same unit that found Osama Bin Laden.
Matt served as Director for Counterterrorism at President Obama’s National Security Council where he developed strategy, policy, and operations to keep America safe from terrorism and extremism. His work degraded Al Qaeda and ISIS, and strengthened security cooperation with our allies. Matt stayed in this role for the first year of the Trump White House before returning to the CIA.
In 2020, as the world faced a devastating pandemic, Matt took a leadership position with a veteran-founded New York based technology company dedicated to eliminating barriers to care for groups often left behind in the healthcare system including veterans and rural communities.
After Matt watched domestic terrorists attack the U.S. Capitol and police officers on January 6, 2021, he decided to run for Congress.- I spent my career combating extremists and fighting for our national security, I know what it takes to protect American families. We deserve to feel safe in our homes, our schools, and our neighborhoods. I will be a tireless advocate for a strong national security, and to ensure our police have the resources to protect and serve our communities, with additional tools for public safety, addiction, and mental health. I will lead the effort to secure our borders and fix our immigration system – once and for all. And I will work to act now to fight climate change which is a direct threat to our economy and our national security. When we come together we can make Upstate New York a place where everyone knows they are safe, secure, and strong.
- All Americans value our freedom. Protecting our freedoms is greater than politics or party, it’s essential to who we are. But extremist politicians are choosing their own party and personal gain over our hard-fought freedoms – banning books, taking away women’s rights, obstructing our right to vote, and threatening the bedrock of our freedom: the integrity of our elections. I will always stand up for our American freedoms – from a woman’s right to choose, to a lawful gun owner’s 2nd Amendment protections, to the right to love who you love and be who you are. And I will never waver in my oath to support and defend the Constitution and protect the fundamental right to vote that is the hallmark of our democracy.
- Whether you’re just starting your career, beginning a family, or getting ready to retire, Upstate NY must be a place where everyone can thrive. I'll fight to lower taxes, reduce gas prices, and ensure basic needs like housing and child care don't break the bank. I'll fight for commonsense solutions that strengthen our supply chain, bring jobs back home, and reign in corporations that make record profits by cheating the American people. I will prioritize investments that help the 21st District win the 21st Century like broadband and clean energy. I will never support trade deals that hurt American workers, because when every family, farmer, small business owner, and hardworking American is set up for success, our entire community benefits.
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 website
Castelli's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
“My priority will always be to give voice to the needs of the people of Upstate New York. I’m running for Congress to deliver meaningful solutions to the challenges faced every day by our neighbors, friends, families, and communities. In order to ensure that Upstate New York remains an incredible place where people and businesses can thrive, we must reduce the costs of daily life for working families, protect the health of our seniors and veterans, prioritize sensible investments for the 21st District, defend our country from all threats – foreign and domestic – and protect our American freedoms.” Matt Castelli
From the gas pump to the grocery store, working families are bearing the brunt of rising costs – but we have tools to offer immediate relief and long-term solutions. Whether you’re just starting your career, beginning a family, or getting ready to retire, I want to make sure that Upstate NY is a place where everyone can thrive. I'll fight to lower taxes, reduce gas prices, and ensure food and basic needs like housing and child care don't break the bank. I'll invest in our long-term success by combatting decades of weak economic policy with commonsense solutions that strengthen our supply chain, bring jobs and manufacturing back home, and reign in corporations that make record profits by cheating the American people. I will always put the well-being of our neighbors and local economy first and I will never support trade deals that hurt American workers, because when every family, farmer, small business owner, and hardworking American is set up for success, our entire community benefits. June 14, 2022 Castelli Plan to Bring Economic Strength and Security to NY-21 Families (Glens Falls, NY) Congressional candidate Matt Castelli announced today a number of his priorities to support working families in Upstate New York, bring down daily costs, create jobs, attract businesses to the district, and lower the cost of care. “The high cost of daily living is the number one issue in the district. People are struggling to make ends meet, and any serious candidate should have a plan to address that, not just complain about it,” said Matt Castelli, Congressional candidate for NY-21. “The good news is there are solutions to provide relief to working families right now and bring down costs by investing in our communities and the great potential of Upstate New York.” Castelli has a plan to address current price hikes that are being caused by high demand and low supply in the wake of supply chain disruptions during the pandemic, workforce needs, high care costs, and multiple causes of high gas prices. Castelli Priorities to Support American Families:
Access and affordability means we can all take care of ourselves, our loved ones, and each other. Right now in Upstate New York, quality child care and elder care are hard to find and even harder to afford, and barriers to healthcare include everything from high prescription drug costs to the tremendous distances between our neighbors and the care they need. These barriers are hurting the health and well-being of our communities. During my time working in healthcare, I worked to eliminate barriers to care for groups often left behind in the healthcare system – including veteran and rural communities – and learned that the solutions are out there. We can start by lowering prescription drug costs, reinstating the Child Tax Credit, and expanding mental health services – because access and affordability means we can all take care of ourselves, our loved ones, and each other. July 29, 2022 Castelli Plan to Protect and Support Seniors Congressional candidate Matt Castelli today held a roundtable discussion in Potsdam with seniors to hear about the issues that matter most to retirees. Castelli also announced a number of his priorities to protect and support seniors across the 21st District, making sure Medicare and Social Security benefits are protected from disastrous privatization schemes, reducing the cost of prescription drugs, and ensuring that seniors have access to the quality care they need - the biggest concerns among seniors. “We all want to know that we can retire with comfort, age with dignity, and that the benefits we paid into will be there when it’s our turn to stop working,” said Matt Castelli, Congressional Candidate for NY-21. “But seniors and the people who love them are worried because Elise Stefanik literally wrote the plan to gut Social Security and Medicare, and has voted against lowering the costs of prescription drugs, putting her big pharma and insurance donors ahead of the needs of seniors in our communities. I will fight to protect and expand Social Security and Medicare, work to bring down prescription drug costs, and make sure that seniors have access to affordable, quality care when they need it.” At the roundtable discussion, participants, many of them Veterans or Veteran family members, were outraged about Stefanik’s opposition to and the failure in the Senate to pass the PACT Act to provide care for Veterans exposed to toxic burn pits. The group also raised concerns about the rollback of women’s reproductive health freedom - especially for their daughters and granddaughters, the need for access to broadband and to trusted sources of news, and the importance of bringing down costs for folks living on a fixed income. The group underscored the importance of protecting Medicare, expanding benefits to dental, vision, and hearing, and reducing prescription drug costs. Castelli Priorities for Seniors:
Congressional candidate Matt Castelli announced today a number of his priorities to strengthen the care economy and improve access to care for Upstate New York communities. “During my time working in healthcare, I fought to eliminate barriers to care for groups often left behind in the healthcare system – including veteran and rural communities – I know that the solutions are out there,” said Matt Castelli, Congressional Candidate for NY-21. “But instead of working to make it easier for our communities to access and afford care, Elise Stefanik has opposed reducing prescription drug prices, opposed extending the Child Tax Credit, and wrote the plan to gut Social Security and Medicare. Our communities want to take care of themselves, their loved ones, and each other, and they deserve a representative who will help them do that.” Castelli Priorities to Expand Access and Affordability of Care:
Smart investments are the key to growing our economy, generating good paying jobs, and unleashing the full potential of Upstate New York. I will prioritize investments that drive economic growth and help the 21st District win the 21st Century. Investments in broadband and cell service will help us all to compete and succeed. Investments in clean energy will provide lower costs, create good paying union jobs, and make Upstate New York the clean energy engine of the state. Investments in skills training and apprenticeships will help build a robust pipeline of talent. Empowering the rights of workers to organize and bargain for better pay and working conditions will lift up all workers and their families. Together, we can make our communities a great place to start and grow a business, have a career, and raise a family. June 20, 2022 Castelli Plan to Create Jobs in NY-21 (Glens Falls, NY) Congressional candidate Matt Castelli announced today a number of his priorities to create and fill jobs in Upstate New York, attract businesses to the district, and improve our local economies. “Nationally, the job market is booming, but we know that not everyone in upstate New York is seeing the benefits of record low unemployment, and that local businesses are struggling to find the help they need,” said Matt Castelli, Congressional candidate for NY-21. “We can create good paying jobs in Upstate New York right now by investing in the full potential of our workforce and our local businesses. When our workforce is unleashed, everyone in our communities benefits.” Castelli Priorities to Bring and Fill Jobs in NY21:
Let’s make Upstate New York a source of true safety, security, and strength - for all. As someone who spent their career combating extremists and fighting for our national security, I know what it takes to protect American families. We deserve to feel safe in our homes, our schools, and our neighborhoods – but instead of working together to pass the commonsense solutions that we agree keep us safe, some politicians seek to distract and divide us. They turn neighbor against neighbor, parent against teacher, and push self-serving, extremist agendas that encourage violence and threaten our communities. America is the strongest nation in the world and we are even stronger when we work with allies and partners. “America Alone” foreign policy weakens our national security and invites aggression from foreign adversaries like Russia and China that threaten democracy everywhere. I will be a tireless advocate for a strong national security strategy, to ensure our men and women in uniform have the resources they need to complete the mission, and to provide for our military families back home. I grew up with and spent my career working with law enforcement. Our federal, state, and local law enforcement are facing unprecedented threats: from the epidemic of gun violence that threatens our children’s lives to the rise of domestic terrorism. I will work to ensure our police have the resources necessary to protect and serve our communities, including additional tools for public safety, addiction, and mental health. I will lead the effort to secure our borders and fix our immigration system – once and for all. For decades, both political parties have failed to secure our borders, seeking political advantage at the expense of our security. We are also a nation of immigrants – just like my grandparents – and we need comprehensive, secure, and fair immigration reform that is vital to our nation and economic growth. We must act now to fight climate change which is a direct threat to our economy and our national security. We are already seeing the effects of extreme weather conditions threatening the Adirondacks and our upstate farms. Climate change is also contributing to a humanitarian crisis on our southern border and threatening our military installations and force readiness. We must do more to protect our trails, rivers, and lakes to keep our families healthy, our economy strong, and our nation secure. When we come together and treat everyone with dignity, respect one another’s differences, and stand strong as a community, we can make Upstate New York a place where everyone knows they are safe, secure, and strong.
Our commitment to freedom is what unites us as Americans. All Americans, no matter our background, value our freedom. It is what makes us American. Protecting our freedoms is greater than politics or party, it’s essential to who we are. But extremist politicians are choosing their own party and personal gain over our hard-fought freedoms – banning books, taking away women’s rights, obstructing our right to vote, and threatening the bedrock of our freedom: the integrity of our elections. I will not allow our hard-fought freedoms to be sacrificed to politics. I will always stand up for our American freedoms – from a woman’s right to choose, to a lawful gun owner’s 2nd Amendment protections, to your right to love who you love and be who you are. And I will never waver in my oath to support and defend the Constitution and protect the fundamental right to vote that is the hallmark of our democracy. July 5, 2022 Matt Castelli Plan to Protect American Rights and Freedoms Congressional candidate Matt Castelli announced today a number of his priorities to protect the rights and freedoms of Upstate New Yorkers. “All Americans, no matter our background, value our rights and freedoms, guaranteed by the Constitution that I took an oath to protect and defend,” said Matt Castelli, Congressional candidate for NY-21. “But when it comes to our rights, Elise Stefanik threatens to ban books, supports taking away women’s bodily autonomy, and wants to prevent us from voting, choosing political power and personal gain over our hard-fought freedoms. I will always stand up and fight for our American freedoms – from a woman’s right to choose, to a lawful gun owner’s Second Amendment protections, to the right to love who you love and be who you are.” Castelli Priorities to Protect Rights and Freedoms:
Today, NY-21 Candidate Matt Castelli released the following statement on protecting and expanding the reproductive rights of women: “Last week we witnessed the impact of a post-Roe world, where state-level decisions dictate what freedoms a woman does or does not have. While Kansans came out in full force in defense of reproductive freedom, Indiana implemented the first state-wide abortion ban. Make no mistake, these state-level efforts to ban abortions are just the beginning for extremists like Congresswoman Stefanik, who is leading the charge to implement a nationwide ban if they take control of Congress this November. These realities highlight that now, more than ever, it is essential that we codify a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body and access reproductive healthcare into law.” said candidate for Congress Matt Castelli. “NY-21 deserves a fighter in Congress who will protect a woman’s right to control her own body and make her own healthcare decisions without interference from the government. I’m committed to ensuring women’s voices are leading the way on the future of reproductive rights – and I’m proud my campaign reflects that with a majority-women team. As your representative, I will fight every day to protect and expand the reproductive rights of women.” Castelli Priorities to Protect and Expand Reproductive Rights:
|
” |
| —Matt Castelli's campaign website (2022)[2] | ||
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Castelli For Congress, “Priorities,” accessed August 9, 2022
