The 2025 race for NY-21 is getting interesting!
27-year-old Josh Parker is considering running for Rep. Elise Stefanik’s congressional seat and conservative commentator Charlie Kirk says Parker has his endorsement if he chooses to run.
“If he runs, he’ll have my support. He’s exactly the type of young, smart, and driven new blood Congress needs.”
Kirk is a popular podcast host considered part of the “new media” credited with helping to influence the outcome of the 2024 election.
“If he runs, he’ll have my support. He’s exactly the type of young, smart, and driven new blood Congress needs,” Kirk wrote on X to his 4.5 million followers Saturday.
Rep. Stefanik is expected to vacate the congressional seat in NY-21 once she‘s confirmed as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. She was appointed to the position by President Donald Trump and is expected to be approved by the Senate in the coming days.
According to Kirk’s post on X, Parker is a father of four and entrepreneur who gained some notoriety after appearing on the TV show Shark Tank.
“He’s built a national business, appeared on Shark Tank, sold the business, and started another successful company,” Kirk wrote of Parker.
Kirk’s post drew ire from Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino, who announced his run for the NY-21 seat shortly after the November election.
In a post on X, Constantino slammed Kirk for supporting Parker, claiming the 27-year-old resides in Texas and “failed to manage a tiny syrup company.”
“…@charliekirk11 should withdraw the endorsement and apologize to MAGA immediately…,” Constantino wrote in part on the X post.
In a post on his X profile, Parker says his family "has been in Canton, NY in the foothills of the Adirondacks for generations."
Constantino made headlines for putting up a massive 100-foot Trump sign at his Amsterdam, NY business ahead of Election Day. In December, he told reporters he'd already visited Mar-a-Lago and was met with support there.
Parker’s young age could make him an interesting candidate. At age 27, his story would be reminiscent of Stefanik’s. Stefanik made history in 2014 as the youngest woman elected to Congress at age 30. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Florida) is now the youngest member of Congress, elected at age 25 in 2022.
Stefanik’s expected departure is causing battles on multiple fronts. The Albany Times Union reports Democrats are attempting to delay the pending special election that would occur in NY-21 as the party plots to overtake the Republican stronghold. At the same time, a number of Republican hopefuls are vying for the position behind closed doors. County leaders from each party will choose their respective candidates. There will be no primary.
