As the June primaries for New York’s 21st Congressional District seat approach, Republican Anthony Constantino has filed campaign finance complaints against his opponent, state Assemblyman Robert Smullen.
Constantino held a campaign event at one of his company Sticker Mule's warehouses in Amsterdam on Monday. He had promised “major announcements.”
With a little more than a month left before the June 23 primary for the seat currently held by Republican U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, Constantino and his attorneys announced a new wave of attacks against Smullen.
Constantino announced he is filing two complaints against his opponent, linked to alleged misuse and incomplete disclosure of campaign funds.
Attorney Joe Burns explained.
“Between June 2025, where he publicly signaled his interest in running for Congress, and his formal announcement in November, Smullen’s assembly campaign committee spent approximately $75,000 on political consultants. Consultants with no prior relationship to his state assembly campaign. While these firms subsequently became paid consultants of Smullen’s federal campaign committee,” said Burns.
The two complaints, one filed with the Federal Election Commission and the other with the New York State Board of Elections, ask for investigations into Smullen’s campaign spending.
“The FEC has been explicit – when a state office-holder uses state campaign money to explore a federal candidacy, that constitutes a prohibited transfer from the state committee to the eventual federal campaign. In addition, federal regulations require any funds raised or spent during a candidate’s ‘testing the waters’ period be disclosed on the candidate's first FEC report. Mr. Smullen disclosed none of it. Not one penny,” said Burns.
In a statement, Smullen, who represents the state’s 118th Assembly District, responded to the most recent allegations from Constantino, saying, “As his campaign falls apart, he is making false claims to create a distraction. There is no merit to anything he is alleging.”
Smullen also alleged Constantino is “resorting to lies and political stunts to stay relevant.”
This is the latest spat between the GOP hopefuls. Smullen has accused Constantino of not paying taxes, and Constantino has issued at least two cease-and-desist orders against the assemblyman.
Last month, Constantino was endorsed by President Donald Trump.
Smullen has been endorsed by a majority of the Republican County committees across the sprawling 21st District. He has also received the endorsement of the state Republican Party. He has also been endorsed by the state Conservative Party, meaning even if he loses the GOP primary, he could still appear on November’s ballot.
Stefanik told the New York Public News Network recently that she intends to let the voters decide.
