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Gendebien also took to social media to criticize the escalation of tariffs in a series of posts last week. “Up here in the North Country, Canada isn’t some distant trading partner; they’re our neighbors and customers,” Gendebien wrote. “Washington treats this relationship like a bargaining chip.”

Gendebien says trade war needs to end Democratic candidate Blake Gendebien said in a statement to 7 News that families in NY-21 are paying over $4.25 a gallon for gas, hospitals are shutting down and small businesses are struggling to survive. He said part of that pain comes from the ongoing trade war and it needs to end.

Blake will be planning and attacking with the help of his energetic and faithful teammate Carmen Gendebien, who I know and admit from the days she worked in my Canton restaurant. The Gendebiens know what the Trump buying of beef from Brazil will do to our dairy farmers’ livelihood and to all of us, plus his tariffs on our Canada neighbors and all across the globe.

Gendebien, who describes himself as “a pragmatic reflection of the district,” was born and raised in the district, on the farm his parents bought after stints as Peace Corps volunteers in Bolivia. The same can’t be said about Democratic candidates in recent cycles. Manhattan cannabis attorney Paula Collins was brand new to the district when she ran in 2024. Two years earlier, former CIA officer Matt Castelli couldn’t shake his connection to the Hudson Valley – Stefanik slammed him as a “Far Left Downstate Democrat from Poughkeepsie.”

Blake Gendebien says he will work with anyone to get results for his constituents as he runs for Congress in the 21st District; as a Democrat in a district that has long favored Republicans, he’s pushing to appeal to a wide swath of voters that has to include some conservatives and he’s doing so with the support of some prominent Democrats while pushing more unpopular party members away.

Democratic congressional candidate Blake Gendebien criticized the Trump administration for allowing the collapse of trade talks with Canada. “Our neighbors in Canada aren’t some distant trading partners, they’re our customers and our friends,” he said Tuesday, in a video on his campaign Facebook page.

I will strongly advocate for Blake during his campaign and, on November 3rd, cast my vote for him. I do not believe that this represents a sellout of my beliefs, as some have suggested, or of those who supported my campaign and fought alongside me. I want to explain why, and why I believe everyone who supported my campaign and the values I fought for should now extend that support to Blake. Whatever our policy differences, I do not doubt that Blake loves this country, cares about Northern New York and wants to serve it honestly.

"We need somebody who's born and raised here and understands what it's like to live here, to lower costs, save our rural healthcare, and make sure that we end this corruption in D.C. that only hurts us disproportionately in rural America," Gendebien said in an interview with ABC News.

LISBON — Democratic congressional candidate Blake Gendebien is calling for an end to the U.S. Canada trade dispute, saying tariffs imposed by both countries could hurt North Country farmers, small businesses and families.

Democratic candidate sits down for a wide-ranging interview on his goals for the district and his opponent’s rhetoric