Smullen Quits N.Y. House Race After Trump Meeting, Clearing 1 GOP Challenger

1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 3

Robert Smullen dropped his planned Conservative-line bid for Elise Stefanik’s New York House seat after an Oval Office meeting in which Donald Trump pressed for Republican unity before the midterms.
That withdrawal removes the main threat to Anthony Constantino, the Sticker Mule chief executive who won last month’s Republican primary and had Trump’s endorsement.
Smullen had backing from local and state Republicans as well as the Conservative Party, whose ballot line could have kept him in the race despite his primary loss.
The move weakens Democrats’ chances of flipping the seat as Stefanik prepares to step down at the end of the year after endorsing Constantino shortly before the primary was decided.