New York's 21st Congressional District elections, 2014

U.S. House, New York District 21 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Elise Stefanik	55.1%	96,226
	Democratic	Aaron Woolf	33.8%	59,063
	Green	Matt Funiciello	11%	19,238
	N/A	Write-in votes	0.1%	141
Total Votes				174,668
Source: New York State Board of Elections, NYS Board of Elections Rep. in Congress Election Returns November 4, 2014," accessed August 30, 2021

2016 → ← 2012

New York's 21st Congressional District

General Election Date November 4, 2014

Primary Date June 24, 2014

November 4 Election Winner: Elise Stefanik

Incumbent prior to election: Bill Owens

Race Ratings Cook Political Report: Toss Up FairVote's Monopoly Politics: Toss Up Sabato's Crystal Ball: Toss Up

New York U.S. House Elections District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 • District 15 • District 16 • District 17 • District 18 • District 19 • District 20 • District 21 • District 22 • District 23 • District 24 • District 25 • District 26 • District 27

2014 U.S. Senate Elections

2014 U.S. House Elections

The 21st Congressional District of New York held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Elise Stefanik (R) became the youngest female ever to serve in the U.S. House when she defeated Aaron Woolf (D) and Matt Funiciello (Green) in the general election.

New York's 21st Congressional District was a battleground district in 2014. Both The Cook Political Report and FairVote rated this district's 2014 election as a toss up. In 2012, Democratic President Barack Obama won the district by a 6.1 percent margin of victory. Democratic incumbent Bill Owens won by a 1.9 percent margin of victory. Owens did not run for re-election in 2014.

Democratic candidate Aaron Woolf did not face a challenger in the primary election. The Republican primary race was between candidates Elise Stefanik and Matt Doheny. Public Opinion Strategies released a poll before Doheny had officially announced his candidacy showing Doheny with a significant lead over Stefanik. Stefanik received criticism for not being a native of New York's 21st District. Stefanik ultimately defeated Doheny in the June 24 Republican primary. Since Doheny also ran uncontested in the Independence primary, he was still set to be on the ballot in the November general election. He stated that he would not be actively campaigning and endorsed Stefanik for the seat. The Conservative Party later nominated Doheny for a judgeship in the 2nd Judicial District of the New York Supreme Court. Since candidates could not run for more than one office at a time, Doheny was removed from the Independence line in the U.S. Congressional election, allowing the Independence Party to endorse Stefanik.

Candidate Filing Deadline	Primary Election	General Election
April 14, 2014	June 24, 2014	November 4, 2014

Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. New York utilizes a closed primary process, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Voter registration: To vote in the federal primary, voters had to register by May 30, 2014. To vote in the state primary, voters had to register by August 15, 2014.

See also: New York elections, 2014

Incumbent: The district's incumbent, Bill Owens (D), who was first elected in 2009, announced that he would not seek re-election in 2014.

New York's 21st Congressional District is located in the northeastern portion of the state and includes Clinton, Franklin, St. Lawrence, Jefferson, Lewis, Hamilton, Essex, Warren, Washington and Fulton counties and parts of Saratoga and Herkimer counties.

Candidates

General election candidates

• Elise Stefanik*a
• Aaron Woolf
• Matt Funiciello

*Although Matt Doheny won the Independence primary, he was later nominated for a state Supreme Court judgeship, removing him from the ballot and allowing the Independence Party to endorse Stefanik.

June 24, 2014, primary results

Republican Primary

• Elise Stefanika
• Matt Doheny

Conservative Primary

• Elise Stefanika

Independence Primary

• Matt Dohenya

Democratic Primary

• Aaron Woolfa

Working Families Primary

• Aaron Woolfa

Green Primary

• Matt Funicielloa

Disqualified

• Stephen Burke
• Donald Hassig

Failed to file

• Joe Gilbert

• Mike Ring

Election results

General election

U.S. House, New York District 21 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Elise Stefanik	55.1%	96,226
	Democratic	Aaron Woolf	33.8%	59,063
	Green	Matt Funiciello	11%	19,238
	N/A	Write-in votes	0.1%	141
Total Votes				174,668
Source: New York State Board of Elections, NYS Board of Elections Rep. in Congress Election Returns November 4, 2014," accessed August 30, 2021

Primary election

U.S. House, New York District 21 Republican Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Elise Stefanik	60.8%	16,489
Matt Doheny	39.2%	10,620
Total Votes		27,109
Source: New York State Board of Elections - Official Election Results

Race background

Before announcing his retirement in January 2014, incumbent Bill Owens (D) was a member of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's Frontline Program. The program was designed to help protect vulnerable Democratic incumbents during the 2014 election cycle.

The National Republican Congressional Committee added Elise Stefanik (R) to their "On the Radar" list in November 2013. According to the NRCC, candidates that made this list were set to receive "...the tools they need to run successful, winning campaigns against their Democratic opponents."

Independence and Conservative Party filings

In addition to the Republican and Conservative parties, Elise Stefanik also tried to file with the Independence Party. The New York Board of Elections declared her petitions to be invalid. The investigation arose after Stefanik alleged that her opponent in the Republican primary, Matt Doheny, had produced fraudulent signatures. Doheny alleged that Stefanik had committed the same offense, and the New York Board of Elections declared both Stefanik's Independence petitions and Doheny's Conservative petitions invalid.

Youngest congresswoman

Elise Stefanik was the youngest woman ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as of 2014. Prior to Stefanik's election in 2014, the record for youngest congresswoman had been held by Elizabeth Holtzman (D-NY). Holtzman was elected in 1972 at the age of 31.

Endorsements

Elise Stefanik

Elise Stefanik received the following endorsements:

• The Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund
• Several community and business leaders, listed on her website
• New York Assemblyman Dan Stec
• Rep. Paul Ryan
• The Essex County Board of Supervisors (14 out of 18 supervisors)
• The Franklin County Conservative Party
• Eleven of the 12 Republican county chairs in New York's 21st District
• The Support, Honor, Elect (SHE) PAC
• Mitt Romney
• Matt Doheny, Stefanik's rival in the GOP primary

Aaron Woolf

Aaron Woolf received the following endorsements:

• Rep. Bill Owens
• Rep. Paul Tonko
• All 12 of the 21st District’s Democratic county chairmen

Matt Funiciello

Matt Funiciello received the following endorsements:

• Former presidential candidate Ralph Nader

Issues

See also: Energy and the 2014 election: the ballots and beyond

Campaign themes

Aaron Woolf

Aaron Woolf listed the following issues, among others, on his campaign website:

“	Economy and Jobs: "Great strides have been made on the road to recovery since the economic recession, but too many New York counties are still saddled with high unemployment. Aaron’s top priority as Congressman will be to support opportunities for job growth across the district." Education: "Our kids deserve the very best in education. From Pre-K through high school, it’s incumbent upon us to ensure they’re well prepared for what comes next. In our district, that means fighting to see that rural schools are given the resources they need to thrive and serve kids in the area." Seniors: "Social Security and Medicare are part of a sacred trust between citizens and their government. Working men and women paid into the system all their lives, and so they deserve to know the program will be there for them in full when they retire." Foreign policy and Fort Drum: "America has long been a leader on the world stage, standing for democracy and stability. Our allies depend on us to be there for them in times of need. Aaron believes America must continue to strengthen those partnerships – including our longstanding commitment to Israel – and work with allies around the world to defeat terrorist elements around the globe. In that same way we must prevent bad actors like Iran from arming themselves with nuclear weapons, and contain others like North Korea to keep those weapons out of the hands of terrorists." Healthcare: "The Affordable Care Act needs to be fixed. As an example, we must eliminate the medical device excise tax. In a field where America leads the world, we should not be punishing success and innovation."	”
—Aaron Woolf, Campaign website (archive)

Elise Stefanik

Elise Stefanik listed the following themes on her campaign website:

“	Economy: "Create jobs and economic opportunities for small businesses to grow in Upstate New York." Regulatory & Tax Reform: "Reduce the out-of-control tax and regulatory burdens facing small businesses by reforming the tax code to be flatter and fairer." Healthcare: "Repeal Obamacare and replace it with common sense solutions to lower health care costs and improve quality and access." Fiscal Responsibility: "Fight for fiscal responsibility by balancing the budget and protecting and preserving entitlements." Agriculture: "Support Upstate farmers – the backbone of our North Country communities." Veterans & Military Families: "Protect Fort Drum and ensure veterans and military families receive the care and services they’ve earned." Constitution: "Defend constitutional liberties, protect the 2nd Amendment." Immigration: "A nation of immigrants, a nation of laws." Energy: "Affordable energy means ‘all of the above’." Environment: "Preserving our greatest asset for future generations." Education: "Local and accountable."	”
—Elise Stefanik, Campaign website (archive)

Matt Funiciello

Matt Funiciello listed the following issues on his campaign website:

“	Single Payer Health Care: Medicare for all, providing quality health care for all Americans. Everybody in, nobody out. Save taxpayer money and build a healthier country. $15 Minimum Wage: Real living wages for all. End Corporate Welfare: Make the 1% pay their fair share! No more taxpayer handouts to corporations like GE who don’t pay their taxes and eliminate jobs. Support locally owned businesses treating workers well instead. Real Farm Policy: Support local and organic farming. Cut subsidies to big agribusiness. Rebuild a publicly-owned regional infrastructure to support local farming. Climate Sanity: Ban fracking nationally. End subsidies to fossil fuels and nuclear. Build a clean, green future with public jobs to create a 100% renewable, clean energy future. Cut carbon emissions 80% by 2030. Green New Deal: Create good public jobs at living wages in jobs that need doing across the country. End the Military-Industrial-Spying State: Protect privacy rights and prevent government spying on data or metadata without a warrant. Slash the military budget, bring the troops home.	”
—Matt Funiciello, Campaign website (archive)

Polls

General election polls

General election candidates
Poll	Elise Stefanik (R)	Aaron Woolf (D)	Matt Funiciello (G)	Undecided	Margin of Error	Sample Size
Harper Polling (October 27–28, 2014)	47%	33%	14%	6%	+/-4.14	560
Siena College Research Institute (October 20-22, 2014)	50%	32%	11%	7%	+/-3.8	670
Siena College Research Institute (September 4-9, 2014)	46%	33%	10%	11%	+/-4.0	591
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

General election candidates if Doheny had won the Republican primary
Poll	Matt Doheny (R)	Aaron Woolf (D)	Matt Funiciello (G)	Undecided	Margin of Error	Sample Size
Public Opinion Strategies (May 19-20, 2014)	43%	21%	5%	31%	+/-4.9	400
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

Republican primary polls

Matt Doheny vs. Elise Stefanik
Poll	Matt Doheny	Elise Stefanik	Margin of Error	Sample Size
Public Opinion Strategies** (January 20-21, 2014)	49%	13%	+/-5.83	283
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

**Note: Some news sources called the accuracy of this poll into question, as Public Opinion Strategies previously worked for Doheny.

Media

Aaron Woolf

Aaron Woolf released a campaign ad in September 2014 criticizing his Republican opponent, Elise Stefanik, for being a "Washington-insider."

Woolf 2014 campaign ad opposing Elise Stefanik

Matt Doheny

• Matt Doheny discussed his campaign for Congress in his first 2014 campaign ad.

• American Crossroads, a conservative super PAC, released an ad opposing Doheny in early June of 2014. The ad criticized Doheny for losing three previous elections, being sued over not paying rent, being charged for boating while intoxicated and reportedly breaking labor laws.

Matt Doheny's first 2014 campaign ad

American Crossroads ad opposing Doheny

Elise Stefanik

Stefanik 2014 campaign ad

Campaign contributions

Bill Owens

Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2014 elections season. Below are Owens’ reports before he announced that he would not seek re-election in 2014.

Bill Owens (2014) Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
April Quarterly	April 15, 2013	$15,447.11	$165,782.76	$(44,541.43)	$136,688.44
July Quarterly	July 15, 2013	$136,688.44	$230,465.29	$(60,722.51)	$306,431.22
October Quarterly	October 15, 2013	$306,431.22	$212,991.29	$(71,491.65)	$447,930.86
Year-End Quarterly	December 31, 2013	$447,930	$181,879	$(82,321)	$547,488
			Running totals
			$791,118.34	$(259,076.59)

Aaron Woolf

Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2014 elections season. Below are Woolf's reports.

Aaron Woolf (2014) Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
April Quarterly	April 15, 2014	$0.00	$417,184.96	$(13,779.89)	$403,405.07
			Running totals
			$417,184.96	$(13,779.89)

Elise Stefanik

Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2014 elections season. Below are Stefanik's reports.

Elise Stefanik (2014) Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
October Quarterly	October 15, 2013	$0.00	$180,569.22	$(15,712.59)	$164,856.63
Year-End	January 31, 2014	$164,856.63	$75,035.52	$(37,764.40)	$202,127.75
April Quarterly	April 15, 2014	$202,127.75	$268,760.03	$(120,062.43)	$350,825.35
			Running totals
			$524,364.77	$(173,539.42)

Matt Doheny

Candidates for Congress were required to file up to seven main reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2014 elections season. Below are Doheny's reports.

Matt Doheny (2014) Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
April Quarterly	April 15, 2014	$0.00	$542,167.00	$(25,722.19)	$516,444.81
			Running totals
			$542,167	$(25,722.19)

District history

Candidate ballot access
Find detailed information on ballot access requirements in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

2012

On November 6, 2012, Bill Owens (D) won re-election to the United States House. He ran in the 21st District due to redistricting in 2011. He defeated Matt Doheny (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, New York District 21 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bill Owens Incumbent	50.1%	126,631
	Republican	Matthew Doheny	48.2%	121,646
	Green	Donald Hassig	1.7%	4,174
	N/A	Write-in votes	0%	105
Total Votes				252,556
Source: New York State Board of Elections, "NYS Board of Elections Rep. in Congress Election Returns Nov. 6, 2012," accessed September 1, 2021

2010

On November 2, 2010, Paul Tonko won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Theodore Danz (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, New York District 21 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Paul Tonko incumbent	59.2%	124,889
	Republican	Theodore J. Danz Jr.	40.7%	85,752
	N/A	Write-in votes	0.1%	150
Total Votes				210,791

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections in New York, 2014
• United States House of Representatives elections, 2014

External links

• New York State Board of Elections

Footnotes

[show]

New York's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Kirsten Gillibrand (D)

Chuck Schumer (D)

Representatives

District 1

Nicholas LaLota (R)

District 2

Andrew Garbarino (R)

District 3

Tom Suozzi (D)

District 4

Laura Gillen (D)

District 5

Gregory Meeks (D)

District 6

Grace Meng (D)

District 7

Nydia Velazquez (D)

District 8

Hakeem Jeffries (D)

District 9

Yvette Clarke (D)

District 10

Daniel Goldman (D)

District 11

Nicole Malliotakis (R)

District 12

Jerrold Nadler (D)

District 13

Adriano Espaillat (D)

District 14

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D)

District 15

Ritchie Torres (D)

District 16

George Latimer (D)

District 17

Michael Lawler (R)

District 18

Pat Ryan (D)

District 19

Josh Riley (D)

District 20

Paul Tonko (D)

District 21

Elise Stefanik (R)

District 22

John Mannion (D)

District 23

Nick Langworthy (R)

District 24

Claudia Tenney (R)

District 25

Joseph Morelle (D)

District 26

Tim Kennedy (D)

Democratic Party (21)

Republican Party (7)