A closely watched Republican primary in upstate New York has gone to a candidate backed by President Trump. According to the reporting, ABC News is projecting that Anthony Constantino will win the Republican primary in a district where the seat is being vacated by a prominent retiring member of Congress. The result settled one of the races drawing attention on primary night.
The contest was set in motion by the departure of a well-known incumbent. According to the reporting, the race is to replace retiring Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, whose decision to step aside opened up the seat. That created an opening that drew candidates with very different profiles into the Republican field.
The projected winner ran as an outsider rather than a creature of party politics. According to the reporting, Anthony Constantino is described as an outsider MAGA figure and is the chief executive of a custom sticker company. That background set him apart from rivals with more conventional political resumes.
President Trump's involvement was a defining feature of the race. According to the reporting, the president backed Constantino in the primary. That endorsement aligned the outsider candidate with the president as he sought the nomination in the upstate district.
The vote count pointed to a comfortable lead as the projection was made. According to the reporting, Constantino was up with almost 60 percent of the vote. He was followed by Robert Smolin, a state lawmaker described as a more traditional conservative who had the backing of local officials, underscoring the contrast between the two contenders.
The outcome fit into a broader night of primaries that ABC News and other outlets were tracking across several states. According to the reporting, the result was one of a series of races being called as voters chose nominees ahead of the November midterm elections. The win positions Constantino as the Republican standard-bearer for the seat once held by Stefanik.