Anthony Constantino Claims NY-21 Win, Uses Victory Speech To Ask Trump To Free Diddy
At his election-night watch party at the Sticker Mule headquarters in Amsterdam, Anthony Constantino — the company’s CEO and the Republican nominee in New York’s 21st Congressional District — declared victory in one of the closest races in the state. Then he used his victory speech to make a request nobody in the room saw coming: he wants President Trump to free Diddy.
Story: reporting and victory-speech transcript via WAMC Northeast Public Radio; unofficial results via the New York State Board of Elections (via AP); additional coverage via the New York Post and Sun Community News. Photo: Emily Russell / North Country Public Radio.
“I think President Trump should consider freeing Diddy,” Constantino told the crowd. “This is a historic New Yorker that did great things for New York State.”
The race itself is not officially over. With roughly 96 percent of the vote counted, the New York State Board of Elections’ unofficial tally has Constantino at 140,119 votes (49.87 percent) to Democrat Blake Gendebien’s 134,390 (47.81 percent). The race has not been officially called, and Gendebien has not conceded — though he has said it appears Constantino will narrowly win the seat being vacated by Elise Stefanik.
Constantino — a former professional fighter who largely self-funded his campaign — spent much of the speech going at the media, saying the margin should have been 20 to 30 points and claiming the press coverage forced him to spend 17 million dollars of his own money. Sun Community News reports he even premiered a new rap song at the watch party. He closed by challenging New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, saying the last time there was a battle between North and South, the North won.
As for Diddy: he is serving a 50-month federal sentence after being convicted in July 2025 on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution — he was acquitted of the more serious trafficking and racketeering charges. Federal records project his release on February 6, 2028. Constantino did not say whether he meant a pardon or a commutation, and President Trump has not responded.
So what do you think — should Trump even entertain it, or is this a future congressman making noise on night one? Let us know in the comments.
