“Career politicians in Washington and Albany — on both sides — have failed to deliver for North Country families,” Gendebien said in a statement to Politico. “People are hurting, and we need a representative who understands the difficulties hardworking families and farmers are dealing with in the face of rising grocery bills.”

Gendebien’s campaign told the outlet that he raised more than $3 million in the last three months. That’s not close to what Stefanik raised as House Republican leader — she has $8.7 million on hand — but it’s likely more than a regular challenger would’ve raised.

Paula Collins, Stefanik’s 2024 Democratic challenger, only took in about $150,000 in receipts during 2024. About $11,000 of that was loaned by herself.

Gendebien likely benefited from the national intrigue driven by Stefanik’s exit and a potential shot for a Democrat to represent Upstate New York during an election off-year. He said 58,000 unique donors averaged $38 per contribution.

“We have tremendous momentum. We are having a great time getting out there rubbing elbows and meeting people, and we have an incredible amount of support. This is about the North Country. It’s not about picking sides,” he told Spectrum News.

The Democrat reacted to Stefanik’s news by quickly committing to running again. He’s already filed to run in the 2026 Democratic Primary in his district.

“I started this campaign because the North Country deserves a representative who truly knows what it means to work hard and deliver for our community – and what’s been made clear today is that Washington knows I’m the right person to do so,” he said in a post on X. “The Administration is abandoning Congresswoman Stefanik’s nomination because they need her vote to cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, VA benefits, and rural education in order to give billions of dollars in handouts to the ultra-wealthy. I’m committed to representing the community that raised me, regardless of when that election is,” he added.

In the meantime, Gendebien continues to hold town halls that were on his schedule and is trying to stay politically relevant. He’s attending a town hall in South Glens Falls this Friday and opposed an ICE raid in the town of Sackets Harbor that detained seven people, including children, at a dairy farm.

“We can do better,” he told 7News. “This is the United States of America. We have the rule of law. We need to treat children with respect. It’s a humanitarian issue. I know that the whole community is very upset. The teachers at the school who have been working with these children for years are very sad about the situation, and we need to get those children back home with their parents.”

Stefanik’s team is aware of Gendebien and is rolling out attacks against the dairy farmer.

Stefanik senior adviser Alex deGrasse told Politico that Gendebien is “anti-American worker, anti-law enforcement and anti-American family,” and referenced an old video in which he praised migrant workers and slammed the local workforce.

TRACKING WHAT DOGE IS DOING ACROSS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

“He desperately asked the Library of Congress to scrub his disastrous, career-ending public interview from their website,” deGrasse said. “If he’s able to buy his way through the primary, he will get crushed in a landslide like every other Democrat in this district.”

Gendebien responded that it’s a “badge of honor to be attacked by career politicians.”