New York Republican Congressional candidate Anthony Constantino and Roger Stone at a campaign rally in Rome, New York, US, November 2, 2026. Tom Brenner/Pool via REUTERS
Faced with an historic rout across the nation, ground-down MAGA politicians appear to be fleeing to the political wilds and extremist hardlands of the MAGAsphere, reports the Gothamist. And from there they are lobbing grenades back at their party.
“Anthony Constantino, one of the last of the state’s MAGA faithful left standing, delivered a scathing assessment of the state party after declaring victory in his North Country congressional race,” reports Gothamist. “His profane rant echoed what many are saying behind closed doors.”
“In NYS, the Republican Party is mostly a Con Job that helps Democrats win,” Constantino posted on X. “Even [failed GOP gubernatorial candidate] Bruce Blakeman was in on the con. He just wandered around like a headless chicken going from stupid dinner to stupid dinner and charming the ‘party’ while ignoring the people.”
Constantino is one of the few Republicans leading his Democratic opponent in the wake of a nationwide Republican slaughter Tuesday night. But he has not yet been declared the winner. Even before he secured victory, however, the Gothamist reports he was already trashing the Republican Party’s ineptitude, which he claimed had cost him a bigger victory in his deep-red district. Constantino complains that the state party opposed him and his right-wing extremism in the primary, but he narrowly won. The CEO said the party’s opposition forced him to fund his own campaign with $17 million of his own money.
The Gothamist reports that Constantino is not along. Many party critics now complain that the GOP has lost its way amid decades of dysfunction.
“The state hasn’t fielded a viable Republican candidate for New York City mayor in 25 years. The last time a Republican won statewide office was in 2002,” reports the Gothamist. “The party appeared poised for a comeback four years ago after a better-than-expected showing in the governor’s race and sweeping Long Island’s four congressional districts. But much of those gains were quickly lost.”
On Wednesday, outgoing Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican who abandoned her bid for governor late last year, told the New York Post that the Republican party should be "built from scratch" and she called Blakeman's bid "a low energy campaign with limited resources that lacked an apparatus.”
Blakeman hit back on X as tempers flared, calling Stefanik a "selfish, do nothing politician that didn’t lift a finger to help Republican candidates in New York this year."
But after the Tuesday beatdown, many Republicans are screaming for a rebuild before the party evaporates.
Former Republican congressmember Marc Molinaro, who served in the Trump administration, also called for a party revamp.
“I don't make it personal, but there needs to be change,” said Molinaro. “This was an a—— whipping. It just was.”
