The United States is divided into 435 congressional districts, each with a population of about 710,000 individuals. Each district elects a representative to the House of Representatives for a two-year term. New York State has 26 Congressional Representatives.New York s 21st Congressional District includes all of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Schoharie, St. Lawrence, Warren, and Washington counties, and parts of Ostego, Rensselaer, and Jefferson Counties.
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Experience and Qualifications
Vice Chair of the Cooperative Board of Agri-Mark, President of Lisbon Central School Board
Community Involvement
Longtime junior varsity basketball coach, co-founder of Jules of Life Foundation
Education
Penn State University
Campaign Endorsements
LCV, IBEW Local 910, IBEW Local 2032, IBEW Local 43, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, LIUNA Local 1822, Teamsters Local 687, UFCW Local 1, 1199SEIU, Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 2, CSEA, Central New York Labor Council, NYS AFL-CIO and NYSUT
Campaign Instagram
blakegendebien
Campaign YouTube
Families across the North Country are getting squeezed by rising costs, and Washington isn't helping. First, on cost of living: as a farmer, I know firsthand how supply chain pressures and consolidation drive up grocery and healthcare prices, and I'll fight to lower costs for working families while standing up to both parties when their policies raise prices at the register. Second, on rural healthcare: our hospitals are closing their doors, so I'll work to restore Medicaid and ACA funding that keeps them open, support EMS as an essential service, and expand primary care and mental health access so families don't have to drive hours for basic care. Third, on a broken Washington: people are sick of politicians serving special interests instead of their constituents, so I'll ban members of Congress from trading stocks, support term limits, and end the revolving door between elected office and lobbying, so decisions get made for North Country families, not donors.
The federal government has a responsibility to make sure elections serve voters, not the highest bidder. Right now, dark money and unlimited outside spending drown out the voices of everyday people, and too many elected officials treat office as a path to personal financial gain instead of public service. I support getting dark money out of politics and increasing transparency around who's funding campaigns and outside groups, so voters know who's trying to influence their elections.
I'm concerned about this ruling. Every voter deserves a fair say in choosing who represents them, and the Voting Rights Act has been one of our country's most important tools for making sure elections aren't rigged to shut out entire communities. Weakening Section 2 protections opens the door to maps drawn to protect incumbents and dilute voters' voices rather than reflect the people a district actually represents. That should worry anyone who believes voters should choose their politicians, not the other way around. Here in New York, I trust our state to run fair, transparent elections, but this decision is a reminder that we can't take voting rights for granted anywhere in this country.
As a farmer, I see climate change firsthand through unpredictable seasons, extreme weather, and shifting growing conditions that put family farms at risk. The national government needs a practical, all-of-the-above energy strategy, that invests in hydro, nuclear, and renewables while supporting domestic energy production. The North Country has some of the cheapest hydroelectric power in the country, and we should be using it. We much protect agricultural land, help farmers adopt clean energy without punishing them financially, and make sure big polluters and tech companies like those building data centers pay their fair share instead of passing costs onto working families.
NATO has kept the peace in Europe for decades and strengthens our own security, so I support continued U.S. engagement, while pushing allies to meet their fair share of defense spending so the burden doesn't fall disproportionately on rural communities, which supply about half our military recruits despite being a small share of the population. The UN remains a useful forum for diplomacy, humanitarian coordination, and avoiding conflicts that cost American lives and money, so we should stay engaged rather than cede that table to others. On the International Criminal Court, the U.S. has never been a member, and I don't support ceding American sovereignty over our own service members and officials to an international court. Congress also needs to reassert its constitutional war powers so no president can commit us to prolonged conflicts without a vote.
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