Closest Race in Recent History Occurs Within NY-21

The closest race within recent history in New York’s Twenty-First Congressional District (NY-21) occurred between incumbent Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Democratic hopeful, Tedra Cobb during the 2018 midterm elections. This close race has inspired Cobb to once again run for the seat in 2020, hoping to flip the seat from red to blue.

Cobb, while encouraging her volunteers and supporters to rest during the upcoming weeks following a hard-fought campaign, plans to proceed by focusing on building ties with the community following the start of the new year. She plans on continuing to “listen to people throughout the district talk about what they face and where they would like to go in the future.”

Democrats throughout the district celebrate the campaign as a success, despite being unable to capture the seat Stefanik still holds for the Republican Party. Part of this celebration is due to 40,000 more votes being cast for a Democratic candidate in the 2018 election compared to the results seen in the 2014 mid-terms.

Despite her loss, Cobb believes that it is “hard to find the words to say how grateful [she is].” She thanks hundreds of volunteers that put their lives on hold to work on the campaign and hopes that the campaign inspires others to work towards change. The campaign broke fundraising records despite not taking a single dollar from a Political Action Committee (PAC). They were able to reach over 130,000 voters by knocking on doors and hand-writing letters and postcards. The grassroots nature of the campaign, culminating with the high percentage of votes cast for a Democratic candidate in a traditionally Republican-leaning district, shows that “we don’t have to follow a model for a campaign,” stated Cobb.

Madeline Thibault ’19, the lead intern for Cobb’s campaign, was responsible for creating a network of interns, as well as getting the vote out to constituents across the district. “I feel like there is a blue wave still going strong, and that we are going to see come changes reflecting that,” stated Thibault in response to the Democratic Party gaining control of the House of Representatives. “We have come closer than any other Democratic candidate since running against Elise Stefanik, so I believe that is a win.”

Julie Ellis, a native to Potsdam, N.Y. and a constituent of NY-21, does not support the campaign that Cobb ran within the region. She believes that Stefanik has been “doing a good job representing North Country residents.” As a district that Trump won in the 2016 election, many residents, including Ellis, advocate for support of Stefanik, as she has voted to pass numerous policies advocated for by the president. Many also cite support due to Stefanik’s advocacy for Fort Drum, located in Jefferson Country, N.Y., which is a major economic hub for the region.

Looking toward the future, Thibault encourages individuals to register to vote, exercise their right to vote, and invite others, including friends and family, to do the same. “Everything you do is inherently political – the price of gas, coffee, clothes – regardless of how small it is, it still has an effect on you,” she stated. “Vote like your rights depend on it.”

According to Politico, Stefanik garnered 122,863 votes, or 56.7 percent of the vote, while 90,526 votes, or 41.8 percent of ballots were cast for Cobb. Another 3,211 votes, or 1.5 percent of the vote, were categorized as “other.” Stefanik’s Washington D.C office declined to comment on future plans for the 2020 Congressional election.