One-on-one with U.S. House candidate Matt Castelli after Rep. Elise Stefanik skips debate

Castelli spoke with NBC5's Stewart Ledbetter at the West End Ballroom in Plattsburgh on Thursday afternoon.

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. —
With days to go before the consequential midterm election that will determine control of the next Congress, NBC5 is airing a new interview with Matt Castelli, Democratic nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives for northern New York (NY-21) taped at a debate hall Thursday.

Republican U.S. Rep Elise Stefanik was invited to the event but did not show up, citing a scheduling conflict.

In the interview, Castelli responds to claims made by Stefanik about his positions on tax and energy policy, the southern border and the events surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Castelli, a former CIA officer, also refutes Stefanik’s characterizations of him as a “Far Left, Downstate Democrat from Poughkeepsie.”

NBC5 viewers have repeatedly pressed the station to hold its traditional debate — but weeks of outreach to the Stefanik campaign, starting in early September, requesting an acceptable date was ignored.

Several days ago, NBC5 opted to proceed, inviting both candidates to a debate at 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27 at the West Side Ballroom in Plattsburgh.

The Stefanik campaign again did not respond until NBC5’s Brian Colleran raised the issue at her GOP rally last Saturday in Saranac Lake.

Stefanik told Colleran the station purposefully chose a date in which she had an engagement with the Herkimer County GOP that evening, information she had not made available to our station at the time of scheduling.

“I've debated more than any other candidate in modern history in my district,” Stefanik said.

Multiple media outlets, however, have similarly been unable to secure Rep. Stefanik’s commitment during this campaign to participate in a single unscripted debate on a public stage to discuss the issues of the day.

After Stefanik failed to show Thursday, NBC5 shifted to a one-on-one interview with Castelli.

Earlier in the day, Stefanik tweeted photos of her attendance at the grand opening of a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Watertown, NY.

Click the video link above to watch the full interview with Castelli with NBC5 anchor Stewart Ledbetter.


https://www.mynbc5.com/article/one-on-one-with-us-house-candidate-matt-castelli-after-rep-elise-stefanik-skips-debate/41803525

Note: Stefanik no longer lives in District 21, Castelli currently does. She has said that if she wins, she'll move.