Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
Class of 2015 Queensbury grad Otto Miller said he’s running as a Republican for the NY-21 Congress seat Elise Stefanik will resign to become U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
“We need younger people getting involved in government,” Mr. Miller, 27, said in a statement to The Chronicle. “People who are up with the times and can continue to keep up with our rapidly changing world, because the changes are only going to keep happening faster as technology advances.”
Mr. Miller studied criminal justice and police science at SUNY Adirondack, graduating in 2022. He then studied homeland security with a focus in counter terrorism and criminal justice at Southern New Hampshire University, graduating in 2024. He currently lives in Queensbury.
Mr. Miller was paralyzed from the waist down in a fall from a third-story roof in Maryland in 2016.
Glens Falls native Liz (Lemery) Joy posted on Facebook that she is considering running and has “been reaching out to the County Chairs.”
The Saratoga County resident has twice run for Congress in the NY-20 District in 2020 and 2022, both times losing to Democrat Paul Tonko. In 2020, she received 38.8% of the vote to Mr. Tonko’s 61.1%. In 2022, she received 44.9% of the vote, to Mr. Tonko’s 55%.
She graduated from Simmons College in 1990. — Ben Westcott
Tim McNulty: Seeking Elise’s seat requires millions of $$, time & ‘a team’
By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor
Warren County Republican Committee Chair Tim McNulty told The Chronicle, as of last week, the 15 Republican Committee Chairs in Elise Stefanik’s U.S. House District 21 had not yet talked as a group.
“I really think it’s premature,” he said, to discuss what will happen regarding the seat before Rep. Stefanik is confirmed as President Trump’s Ambassador to the United Nations and then resigns her House seat.
“That’s not to say the serious conversations aren’t going on already,” he adds.
“There is some discussion about a coordinated meeting of the Committee Chairs, perhaps in December. I look forward to participating in that.”
“The race is going to be in the millions of dollars,” Mr. McNulty predicts. “I hope it doesn’t become crazy. It’s important to Republicans to hold the seat, just as it’s important to the Democrats to flip it, to show they can be reckoned with in the North Country.”
He said, “I’m getting daily emails or messages from interested local persons, not parties” interested in running.
“You’ve got to have a team,” Mr. McNulty said. “Elise’s team is very strong. I don’t know if anyone can build a team like that…
“There’s a significant time investment, monetary investment, and it’s not just for the four- or five-month time you’re going through the election — then you’ve got a two-year commitment because they’ll be filling in for the rest of the term, right?
“I’m very impressed by the people wanting to participate in the process. It’s just, I think they need know, this is what it’s going to take.”
Regarding Amsterdam businessman Anthony Constantino declaring his intention to run, Mr. McNulty said last week, “He has not reached out to me. He has contacted some other chairs, so I think he’s just making his way down the list.”
Warren County Democratic Chair Lynne Boecher, spokesperson for the 15 Democratic Chairs in the 21st District, said they have no updates “yet.”
Independents can run for Elise’s seat
Party chairs of counties within New York State Congressional District 21 will nominate their respective candidates to run in a special election next year, presuming Elise Stefanik is confirmed as Donald Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations and resigns from the House of Representatives.
Beyond the candidates nominated by the combined party chairs, an individual may circulate a petition to run on an independent party line for the seat, Warren County Board of Elections Commissioners Bill VanNess and Beth McLaughlin told the Chronicle, in response to our inquiry.
They said they weren’t certain yet how many signatures a candidate would need to gather.
Once Rep. Stefanik resigns, Governor Kathy Hochul has 10 days to call a special election. The election must by scheduled 70-80 days after the Governor’s announcement, Mr. VanNess and Ms. McLaughlin said. — Cathy DeDe
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