Smullen says he ‘raised’ $500,000 but he loaned nearly all of it; Gendebien slams both Republicans as ‘millionaires’

February 12, 2026 Hot Copy

Republican Congressional hopeful Anthony Constantino says he is self-funding his campaign, and federal filings indicate he has loaned it $7.26-million as of Dec. 31.

Headline says ‘Smullen raises $500K,’ but nearly all of it was a loan Mr. Smullen made to his own campaign. As of Feb. 9, Schenectady’s Daily Gazette continued with that headline on its website.

He says self-funding frees him from serving special interests.

His Republican opponent Assemblyman Robert Smullen announced “OVER $500K RAISED in less than a week,” but his Federal Election filing as of Dec. 31 indicates he loaned his campaign $500,000 and reported just $13,122 in contributions.

Nevertheless, some media have accepted his depiction that “Smullen raises $500K” while “Constantino lends his own campaign $5M.”

Democratic candidate Blake Gendebien took both Republicans to task in a press release Monday.

“Millionaire congressional candidates Anthony Constantino and Robert Smullen bankrolled their campaigns with $5 million and $500,000, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2025, sharply contrasting dairy farmer Blake Gendebien’s grassroots campaign supported by more than 69,000 total individual donors.”

The Gendebien release continued, “The fundraising totals are so disingenuous that Smullen even ‘announced his campaign had raised more than $500,000…without identifying that $500,000 was a personal loan’ – and didn’t respond to the press when asked for comment about his blatant lie. Meanwhile, Constantino continues to brag about spending millions of his own money as families across the North Country face the impacts of tariffs, rising costs, and rural hospitals at risk of closure. “

Mr. Gendebien is quoted: “North Country families can’t trust someone to understand their day-to-day concerns or fight for their needs when they have hundreds of thousands – or millions – of dollars to casually dump into their political campaigns.

“As a dairy farmer, I know firsthand how rising grocery and healthcare bills squeeze working families. In Congress, I’ll fight to lower costs and increase access to quality, affordable healthcare, not cut taxes for the ultra-wealthy like Constantino and Smullen.”

Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980

Smullen says he ‘raised’ $500,000 but he loaned nearly all of it; Gendebien slams both Republicans as ‘millionaires’

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