Watertown Daily Times endorses Blake Gendebien for NY-21!
From the Editorial, October 30, 2026
Gendebien is Best Suited for Congress
Northern New York deserves congressional representation grounded in an understanding of the region’s people, economy and institutions, with the interests of the district taking precedence over partisan loyalty.
Congressional representation involves more than voting with a party. It requires listening to constituents, understanding the local consequences of federal decisions and exercising independent judgment.
Blake Gendebien is running as a Democrat, but his party affiliation is not what defines his candidacy. As a farmer from Lisbon, near Ogdensburg, Gendebien told the Times in an interview that he already works with people whose political views differ from his own, and he expects that he will sometimes disagree with members of his party.
He said a majority of his friends and neighbors are Republican or at least conservative, reflecting the region and the agricultural community in which he works.
"I'm in an ag-heavy text group, but we don't ask each other, when we need help from each other, what our politics are," Gendebien said.
In the world in which Gendebien lives and works, cooperation crosses political lines.
"I have to work with everybody in order to get things done, on both sides of the aisle," he said.
He has carried that approach to everyday cooperation into his campaign for Congress. It is a promise about how he intends to serve and build a legislative record.
"I don't think the Democratic Party gets it right all the time," he said.
Tuesday's election may be the most consequential congressional election northern New York has faced in a generation. Its significance will extend beyond the next congressional term because long-term federal policy matters to the North Country.
Here, near the Canadian border, we rely on cross-border traffic and commerce to support our economy. Farmers depend on crop and milk prices for their revenue and on manageable material and fuel costs to control their expenses.
The trade war with Canada and the war with Iran have disrupted both. Washington's decisions have tangible consequences for families, farms, employers and communities.
As winter bears down on northern New York, the average price of a gallon of heating oil was $6.05 on Friday, up from $3.55 a year ago, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. For a family that heats with oil and uses 1,000 gallons a season, that's an increase of $2,500.
Beyond keeping homes warm, diesel fuel is essential to the tractors and equipment that keep farms operating. Gendebien said fuel consumption is highest during planting and harvesting.
He said his farm paid $2.65 a gallon for diesel during the 2025 planting season. By this spring, before prices continued to climb, the cost was a little under $5 a gallon.
"We buy 20,000 gallons just to get our crops in," he said. "So who pays that $40,000 (increase)? Ultimately it makes its way to the consumer and increases food costs, but it is not overnight. In farming, that is a long investment window."
Residents of northern New York, in letters to the editor throughout this campaign, have highlighted the issues most important to them and argued that this election is about more than party affiliation.
"This midterm election is not just between these two individuals but serves as a referendum on the direction this country wants to go," wrote Cory Chase of Canton. "We need more so now than ever a person representing us who really cares about the community."
Gendebien has focused his candidacy on the needs of northern New York, addressing milk prices, relations with Canada and support for our military and Fort Drum — the state's largest single-site employer — rather than seeking a place in the national political spotlight. Gendebien seeks appointments to the House Armed Services and Agriculture Committees.
Gendebien has experience managing a challenging agricultural business and understands payroll and employment responsibilities. He also has demonstrated a willingness to listen, a measured temperament, personal conviction and restraint in political disagreement.
Those are qualities that seem increasingly rare in an era of confrontation and explosive political rhetoric.
His relevant life experience and calm temperament throughout a bruising campaign provide a foundation for effective representation, although his ability to translate those qualities into legislative accomplishments remains to be demonstrated.
Rep. John M. McHugh possessed many of those qualities while serving the residents of the North Country from 1993 to 2009. McHugh's congressional career and subsequent appointment as secretary of the Army by President Barack Obama provide an example of cooperation across party lines.
His career also illustrates the importance of maintaining a connection between political identity and service to the district.
While the district has been represented by a republican for most of the past 150 years, we should not overlook the service of William L. Owens, a Democrat who represented the North Country from 2009 to 2015.
Owens, the first Democrat elected to represent the North Country in Congress since the late 1800s, was an attorney by profession and a Long Island native whose service in the U.S. Air Force brought him to his adopted hometown of Plattsburgh.
Constituents who wrote letters to the Times after Owens chose not to seek another term praised his continuation of McHugh's tradition of service to the district.
"I have been a transplant to the north country for the last 14 years," wrote Mark Helmer of Brasher Falls in 2014. "In that time, I feel I have been represented by two excellent congressmen: one a Republican, John McHugh; and one a Democrat, Bill Owens. Both men were able to cross party lines to benefit the people of this district."
Blake Gendebien has pledged to exercise independent judgment and remain willing to disagree with party leadership when the district's interests warrant it. He is the candidate who deserves the North Country's vote, and if he holds true to his campaign promises, northern New York will be well represented in Congress.
Comments