Talking Tariffs with Blake: POLITICO NY Interviews NY-21 Democratic Candidate on Impacts of Tariffs in the North Country

Lisbon, NY – New reporting from POLITICO New York highlights the detrimental impact of new tariffs in the North Country – and how dairy farmer and Democratic candidate for NY-21 Blake Gendebien is ready to bring a farmer’s voice and first-hand experience with tariffs to Congress.

While Congresswoman Elise Stefanik is “all in on Trump’s agenda” that has already caused a “66 percent dip in business” for small businesses in the North Country, Gendebien knows what it means to deal with tariffs as a small business owner and farmer, noting that “the farmers have to pay that cost, and when farmers’ costs go up, costs of groceries go up.”

Gendebien has focused his campaign on lowering costs, and in a recent statement emphasized that uncertainty around tariffs on Canada “will raise costs on food, fuel, and energy for the North Country, raising costs for families, farmers, and seniors who are already struggling to get by.”

Read more from POLITICO below.

POLITICO New York Playbook: The Canadian-upstate commerce deep freeze

Emily Ngo | April 14, 2025

Canadian tourists are freezing out the United States over President Donald Trump’s annexation threat, his trade war and border lockups, POLITICO reports in a deep dive.

And in northern New York regions reliant on cross-border commerce — including day trips by Canadians for dining and shopping — the dropoff in visitor traffic is a hit to local economies and friendships.

“We especially feel and appreciate the sense of hurt as one would with one’s family,” said Garry Douglas, president and CEO of the North Country Chamber of Commerce. His members have experienced a 66 percent dip in business from Canadians for 2025, according to a survey this month.

Stefanik, a very close Trump ally, broke with the president over tariffs on Canada in 2018 and 2020, but is voicing her full support now.

Meanwhile, the Democrat seeking to unseat Stefanik in her deep-red district said Trump’s tariffs are driving interest to his campaign.

“The farmers have to pay that cost, and when the farmers’ costs go up, costs of groceries go up,” Blake Gendebien, a dairy farmer who raised $3 million last quarter, told Playbook. “And it just makes life less affordable for my friends and my neighbors and everybody in the North Country.”

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Born and raised on a farm in the North Country, Blake and his wife Carmen have raised their three sons on the Twin Mill Farm in Lisbon, growing the farm to 500 head of cattle. Blake and Carmen also started The Jules of Life Foundation, which provides resources and support to North Country families battling pediatric cancer. For the past 10 years, Blake has served as the Vice Chair of the Cooperative Board of Agri-Mark where he represented the interests of farmers from across the region. He is a former member of the Lisbon Central School Board, and was a longtime junior varsity basketball coach.