Trump Endorses Wealthy Sticker Company CEO Who Battled With Hometown Over Pro-Trump Sign To Succeed Stefanik

President Trump is endorsing the chief executive of a wildly successful custom sticker company who battled with his hometown over a pro-Trump sign to succeed Congresswoman Elise Stefanik. Anthony Constantino previously threatened to run as a third party candidate after Republican Party leaders lined up behind a state senator in a potential special election to replace Ms. Stefanik, though that race never materialized after her nomination for UN envoy was pulled. Mr. Constantino has never served in public office before, though he is an incredibly successful businessman from upstate New York. According to his financial disclosures, he would be one of the wealthiest members of Congress, if elected, with a net worth of somewhere between $50 million and $75 million. His stake in his company Sticker Mule is listed as being worth more than $50 million, so his exact net worth cannot be known. Last year, he took in a salary of $2.6 million. According to campaign finance documents, Mr. Constantino has loaned his campaign $7.6 million. In a Truth Social Post on Tuesday, Mr. Trump praised Mr. Constantino for his record as a professional boxer and businessman. “Anthony is a Proven Leader who has dedicated his life to serving his Community,” Mr. Trump wrote. The president mentioned political advisor Roger Stone and Mayor Rudy Giuliani as being strong supporter of Mr. Constantino. Mr. Constantino’s biggest claim to fame in upstate New York is the fact that he put a large “Vote for Trump” sign on top of the factory where he manufactures his custom stickers. He did not receive permission from the town of Amsterdam, New York to do so, though the mayor told him that he could have applied for a variance to put up the sign. “It’s a massive victory. We’re going to keep the sign up, the sign is a beautiful sign. Our lawyer is going to take it to the court,” Mr. Constantino told a group of supporters in 2024 as he was lighting up the sign, according to CBS 6, a local outlet. The sign is still up as of Monday. Mr. Trump mentioned it in his Truth Social post and even included a photo of it. In January, Mr. Constantino released a rap album titled “Thank You President Trump,” which he says was inspired by Charlie Kirk’s assassination last year. The album includes tracks titled “Art of the Deal,” “Fight,” and “Freedom,” to name just a few. Mr. Constantino’s main competition for the Republican nomination to succeed Ms. Stefanik is state assemblyman Robert Smullen. Mr. Smullen is supported by a number of county GOP chapters, as well as the New York State Conservative Party, an offshoot of the GOP that backs more hardline conservative candidates, though it does have a history of cross-endorsing along with the state GOP. Ms. Stefanik’s pollster, GrayHouse Polls, found in February that Mr. Constantino has a wide lead over Mr. Smullen in the GOP primary. The poll shows Mr. Constantino leading by 27 points, 43 percent to 16 percent.In a phone call with the New York Sun, the chairman of the Conservative Party, Jerry Kassar, said he was not aware that the president was going to endorse Mr. Constantino. “I think the president received influence from Roger Stone on this issue,” Mr. Kassar said. “He chose, in my view, who is not the better candidate.” He says his party will continue to support Mr. Smullen.

Trump Endorses Wealthy Sticker Company CEO Who Battled With Hometown Over Pro-Trump Sign To Succeed Stefanik

More from the New York Sun

‘Schmigadoon!’ Gleefully Sends Up Broadway Classics, but Soon Runs Out of Gas

Can GOP Conservatives Block Elizabeth Warren?

Banking, Blockading, and the Final Iranian Financial Squeeze

More from the New York Sun

‘Schmigadoon!’ Gleefully Sends Up Broadway Classics, but Soon Runs Out of Gas

Can GOP Conservatives Block Elizabeth Warren?

Banking, Blockading, and the Final Iranian Financial Squeeze

Judge Spares Suspect in Bizarre Plot To Kidnap a North Korean Diplomat From Extradition to Spain

Angry Anti-Trump Journalists Urge White House Correspondents Group To ‘Demonstrate Opposition’ to Trump at Dinner

House Republicans Demand Answers Over Mysterious Deaths, Disappearances of High-Level American Scientists

UN Peacekeeping: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Exclusive: Trump Mounts New Push To Move Appeal of Stormy Daniels Case to Less Hostile Federal Court