SARATOGA COUNTY —Six days after Congresswoman Elise Stefanik was elected to her sixth term to represent New York’s 21st District, President-elect Donald Trump picked the town of Saratoga resident to serve as his ambassador to the United Nations.
Stefanik (R,C) was first elected to the House in 2014 and defeated challenger Paula Collins (D, WF) 60.3% to 36.5% districtwide on Election Day 2024. By accepting the Trump nomination, Stefanik gives up her seat in the district and opens up the position to be settled in a district-wide special election in 2025.
The 21st Congressional District currently encompasses more than one dozen counties, mostly in the Northern section of upstate New York. Included is a portion of Saratoga County that is home to about 41,000 actively registered district voters, and which represents residents in the towns of Corinth, Day, Edinburg, Greenfield, Hadley, Moreau, Northumberland, Providence and Saratoga in their entirety, as well as those in the northernmost section of Wilton.
The post as ambassador to the United Nations requires U.S. Senate confirmation.
“I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the United States Senate,” Stefanik said in a statement released Nov. 11. “I stand ready to advance President Donald J. Trump’s restoration of America First peace through strength leadership on the world stage on Day One at the United Nations.”
“It will certainly be a high visibility position,” said Bob Turner, associate professor of Political Science at Skidmore College. “Donald Trump has signaled his distrust of the U.N. and of multilateral policy-making in general and whoever is in that position is going to be in charge of trying to impose (the president-elect’s) policies on the UN. When it comes to things like NATO or Ukraine or Israel-Palestine, there is going to be a lot of heat that will be generated at the UN.”
Edward Reilly Stettinius, Jr. – who served as Secretary of State under Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman – became the first U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in the mid-1940’s. There have been 30 Representative of the U.S.A. to the United Nations in all, including John Bolton (2005-2006), Nikki Haley (2017-2018), and most recently Linda Thomas-Greenfield – who was nominated by Pres. Joe Biden in January 2021 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate one month later.
On a national scale politically, the anticipated pending departures of House Republicans Elise Stefanik, Mike Waltz and Matt Gaetz – each selected by President-elect Trump as appointments for his administration – leaves the GOP with three less active members at the start of the new Congress in 2025 and vacant until filled via special elections.
“It is a little surprising, because while it seems Republicans will gain control of the House, their margin is going to be in the single digits. To lose a reliable supporter of the president I think took people by surprise,” Turner said.
Stefanik also serves as House Republican Conference chair. “I think had she decided to stay there certainly would have been an opportunity for her to become the first female Republican speaker of the House,” Turner said.
A Special Election for Congressional District 21
It is anticipated a Special Election to fill the Congressional seat in District 21 will take place sometime in the spring of 2025.
When U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik officially resigns from the House, a 10-day window will open for Gov. Kathy Hochul to declare a special election to fill the seat vacancy in the 21st Congressional District, with that election to be held about 70 days later. For example, were Stefanik to officially resign when Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2025, the special election would then be held in early-to-mid April.
Members of the House of Representatives under normal circumstances serve full two-year terms; The seat in District 21 would be vacant until the Special Election, and then once filled, up for reelection in November 2026.
The candidates for the special election will be selected by party leaders. No party primaries will be held. The 21st Congressional district includes more than a dozen counties – Warren, Washington and parts of Saratoga among them – and multiple county committees are charged with coming up with a consensus to put forward their party’s respective candidate.
“My family and I are excited for this next chapter in New York and Washington to work hard to serve our country on President Donald Trump’s team,” Stefanik said in a statement. “No matter where this journey takes us, Upstate New York – the cradle of the American Revolution – will always be my heart and home.”
