# Anthony Constantino **Anthony Thomas Constantino** is the founder and chief executive of **Sticker Mule**, an online printing company based in Amsterdam, New York, and the **Republican nominee in [[NY-21-2026]]** — the Northern New York seat [[Elise Stefanik]] is leaving. He won the June 2026 Republican primary with roughly **59%** against Assembly Member Robert Smullen's 40%, despite Smullen holding the endorsements of the state Republican Party, most county committees and all seven of New York's Republican members of Congress. Constantino had **Donald Trump's** endorsement and credited it in his victory speech. [[Elise Stefanik]] stayed neutral until the result was clear, then endorsed him. ## He is paying for his own campaign, almost entirely This is the fact that distinguishes him from any other candidate the wiki tracks in this cycle. Through his committee's **pre-general report** (Constantino for Congress, Inc., FEC **C00892737**, coverage through **2026-10-14**): | Measure | Amount | |---|---| | Total cycle receipts | **$14,464,951.19** | | **Loans made by the candidate** | **$14,400,000.00** | | Loans from any other source | $0.00 | | Contributions received | $7,000.00 | | Contributions refunded | **$7,000.00** | | Debts owed by the committee | **$17,000,000.00** | | Cash on hand, end of period | $2,298,984.48 | **Essentially 99.6% of the money is his own, lent rather than given, and the only $7,000 the campaign ever accepted from anyone else it refunded in full.** On **2026-10-29** he put in a further **$1,000,000.00** — see [[Constantino 1M Self-Funding NY-21]]. That shape matters for how outside-money totals are read. A candidate loan is repayable from future fundraising; it is not a donation, and counting it as one would overstate the money behind the campaign while understating how little of it came from supporters. ## Outside money is arriving separately On the same day as the $1 million loan, [[Safety and Affordability PAC]] — a committee with no disclosed funders — spent **$360,000.00** supporting him and an identical **$360,000.00** opposing [[Blake Gendebien]], plus a further $121,280.31 against Gendebien. See [[Safety and Affordability PAC 22.4M House IE October 2026]]. ## What to watch - **The post-election report.** Whether the $17 million of committee debt is repaid, forgiven or written down is the whole story of how this campaign was financed, and none of it is visible until after the votes are counted. - **Whether the self-funding total keeps climbing** past the $15.4 million now on the record. - **The FEC complaint** reported against him over political ad buys — unresolved and unverified here. ## See Also - [[NY-21-2026]] · [[Blake Gendebien]] · [[Elise Stefanik]] - [[Constantino 1M Self-Funding NY-21]] · [[Safety and Affordability PAC]] - [[2026 Midterms Hub]] · [[People Hub]]