Edinburg, NY – 16 October 2026 – Anthony Constantino for Congress today released a new ad, “Blake Was Hand Selected,” exposing Kathy Hochul’s own admission that she spent two years working with Hakeem Jeffries to hand-select New York Democrats to run for Congress, Blake Gendebien among them.
The ad features Hochul’s interview on NY1’s “Inside City Hall,” where she boasts of building a coordinated campaign to win target House races in New York, pouring money into the effort, opening 42 field offices, and hiring 100 staffers. Hochul names Blake Gendebien as one of her chosen candidates and declares that New York will be the state that sends Hakeem Jeffries to the Speaker’s office.
Kathy Hochul has told New Yorkers exactly who Blake Gendebien works for. Gendebien won’t. He refuses to say whether he will vote for Kathy Hochul for Governor, and he refuses to say whether he will support Hakeem Jeffries for Speaker of the House. Hochul openly claims him as her candidate while Gendebien hides from voters every time he’s asked.
Behind closed doors, Gendebien tells a different story. At his September 3 “Healthcare Town Hall,” audio captured on a hidden recording device shows Gendebien defending Hochul, saying he has no idea why she is so unpopular in New York’s 21st District and praising how hard she has worked. He then makes his real commitment plain: “I will work with the governor.”
Gendebien claims he can’t understand Hochul’s unpopularity. Upstate New Yorkers understand it perfectly. Her policies have driven more than 2 million lifelong New Yorkers out of the state, and her soft-on-crime and sanctuary policies have left countless innocent New Yorkers brutalized and killed. Gendebien looks at that record and calls it hard work.
“Kathy Hochul picked Blake Gendebien, funded Blake Gendebien, and staffed Blake Gendebien’s campaign, and he still won’t tell voters whether he supports her,” said Anthony Constantino. “In private, he promises to work with her. In public, he pretends he barely knows her. Upstate New York deserves a Congressman who tells them the truth, and Blake Gendebien has spent this entire campaign deceiving them. In Congress, I will fight Kathy Hochul’s policies, and fight against a Jeffries speakership. I answer to nobody but the people of this district.”
The ad can be viewed here.
VOICEOVER: “Blake Gendebien was hand selected by Kathy Hochul. Listen for yourself.”
KATHY HOCHUL: “I’ve created a coordinated campaign to identify the target races in New York. I think Blake Gendebien can win in the North Country. We invested money, opened up 42 field offices. I hired 100 staffers.”
VOICEOVER: “Blake says Hochul is a great governor, and doesn’t get why she’s so unpopular.”
BLAKE GENDEBIEN: “She is unpopular in New York’s 21st District. She has a negative net favorability. I don’t know why that is. She has certainly worked hard. I will work with the governor.”
KATHY HOCHUL: “We’re gonna to be the state that sends Hakeem Jeffries to the Speaker’s office.”
VOICEOVER: “We can not let that happen. Vote Anthony Constantino.”
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Anthony Constantino set the record for most votes in the NY-21 primary after overcoming fierce establishment opposition as a political outsider who built Sticker Mule, a global company headquartered in New York with over 1,000 employees. He also compiled a 2-1 (2 KOs) professional boxing record after going pro for his 40th birthday.