Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics Democrat Matt Putorti June 14, formally launched his campaign for the 21st Congressional District seat, hoping to win his party's nomination to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik in 2022. Putorti is a 37-year-old attorney from Whitehall, Washington County. He released a video on social media highlighting his ties to the North Country when announcing his run. If elected, he would be the first openly gay man to serve in the House from the 21st Congressional District. "I'm running for Congress because Northern New Yorkers deserve a representative who will work to make their lives better," Putorti said. "...My campaign will concentrate on the issues important to working families: access to good-paying jobs, healthcare everyone can afford, and schools that provide pathways to success for every child." Stefanik has held the seat since 2014. During the past two years, Stefanik became a prominent national Republican, having secured the third-ranking post in the House GOP conference after Wyoming representative Liz Cheney's break with leadership over President Donald Trump. In a statement, Stefanik advisor Alex DeGrasse called Putorti a "far-left socialist" and "New York City lawyer" out of step with the district. In the past year, Stefanik supported a lawsuit that attempted to have the U.S. Supreme Court invalidate President Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election. On January 6, after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, she voted to reject some of Biden's electoral votes. Stefanik also made false claims about the conduct of the election in some of the states Biden won and amplified baseless claims of major irregularities with both voting and election software. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.