PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (WCAX) – With Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik poised to take her new post as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, many are wondering who is looking to win her seat in a future special election.
Bill Owens knows plenty about special elections. The former District 21 Congressman was elected in one back in 2009, serving until 2015.
The Democrat says voters can expect party chairs from across all counties to kick off the process.
The county chairs make the selection. There is no primary available in a special election, so it is very much if you will an inside job,” Owens said.
For the candidates, Owens says they’ll be faced with the challenges of name recognition and potentially low turnout. “The district is so big, you have so many different communities, that you may be well known in Plattsburgh or Glens Falls or Watertown, but the other communities may not know who you are. So, just getting name recognition is difficult,” Owens said.
He also says external factors, including President-elect Trump’s policies on immigration and economic tariffs. “We have lots of dairy farms that have lots of illegal immigrants working on them. In that situation, if those farms lose those people, they are not going to be very happy either. So, there are some things that can happen here that can change the tone in terms of disposition towards Democrats or Republicans,” Owens said.
However, when looking at voter enrollment in the district, Republicans outnumber Democrats by more than 70,000.
Among those being floated as a potential candidate is state Senator Dan Stec, R-Queensbury. “You go where duty and service calls, right? So, if someday there is a call for that, I will examine it at the time,” Stec said. “Until this confirmation actually happens — and I am sure it will — but until it does, it is just a little early to be talking about who is running next. There is going to be time for that.”
And for the Democrats, Assemblyman Billy Jones’ name has also been floated. Jones told WCAX he agrees it’s too early to be discussing the special election and that he is focused on returning to Albany for the upcoming legislative session.