Castelli talks Moderate Party line, Jan 6. during NY-21 campaign stop in Lowville

Jul. 13—LOWVILLE — Ahead of the Democratic primary election in August, candidate Matt Castelli said he's feeling more and more confident in his campaign's strength and appeal to most voters in New York's 21st Congressional District.

The former CIA officer and counterterrorism director for the National Security Council has secured support in some fashion from all of the county Democratic committees in the district, and has secured a third-party ballot line in the general election.

In an interview ahead of a campaign event in Lowville, Mr. Castelli said he's unwilling to entertain a future where he hasn't won the Democratic primary in this race.

"I won't entertain the idea of losing the Democratic primary," he said over a cup of coffee at Lloyd's of Lowville. "We have every intent and plan to win that Democratic primary."

Mr. Castelli referenced his endorsements, from the party committees and leaders, to former Rep. Bill L. Owens, the Democrat who represented the north country district from 2009 to 2015 and sitting Rep. Abigail A. Spanberger, D-Va. But he said the strongest indicator of his appeal so far is his successful attempt to gain the Moderate Party line. He said he secured signatures from more than 11,000 unique voters between his Democratic and Moderate petitions to appear on the ballot. Only 1,500 signatures are required to secure a ballot line for an established party. A petition to appear on an independent third-party line in New York requires 3,500 signatures, and Mr. Castelli submitted over 6,500.

Although a movement called the Moderate Party has started up in some states like New Jersey, — to bridge the Republican and Democratic parties and promote centrism — Mr. Castelli said his own Moderate Party is not a party of that larger organization.

"This was not done with any type of coordination with other folks who are pursuing this," he said. "Although I think, as I'm learning more about what's happening in places like New Jersey, that our interests, our very values, are very much aligned."

Mr. Castelli said NY-21 has a strong base of independent voters, and has long been known to support more moderate candidates in Congress, like Mr. Owens. He said his goal is to show moderate Republicans, Democrats and independent voters that he is that moderate, what he calls a "common-sense" candidate.

Mr. Castelli said he stands firmly against political violence, and has long referenced the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol as his reason to seek a seat in Congress in the first place. He said the Republican Party has bred extremism that has led to that violent act, and that's where the moderation is needed most. But Mr. Castelli also spoke of concerns over left-leaning Democrats' spending habits and fiscal "irresponsibility," and said that's a point that the Democrats need to rein in.

As Mr. Castelli has campaigned across NY-21, the House investigation into the Jan. 6 attack has progressed with public, livestreamed hearings. Mr. Castelli has made it a central point in his campaign, while his Republican opponent, Rep. Elise M. Stefanik, has made discrediting the investigation a primary focus herself.

As chair of the House Republican Conference, Rep. Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, has led the GOP response to the committee's findings. In appearances on conservative cable news and opinion channels, press releases and tweets, Rep. Stefanik has called the hearings shams. On Breitbart, she has instead blamed Democrats for "failing to secure the Capitol," against potential threats, and has said she views Capitol security as the primary concern following the attack on the houses of Congress.

Mr. Castelli said the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack has shown that the core issues that caused the violent attack are even more significant than he first believed.

"It's worse than what I anticipated," he said. "I think it's been shocking."

Mr. Castelli has leaned firmly on his counterterrorism experience as he campaigns, and said the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol, where right-wing extremists and supporters of President Donald J. Trump tried to stop Congress from certifying President Joseph R. Biden's election win, was an example of domestic terrorism. Now, he said it seems that domestic terrorism was directed from President Trump's office.

"What is clear at this stage is that there was a crime, an attack on our country and attempt to overthrow the will of the American people, and that it had the knowledge and intense direction from the very highest level of government," he said.

In public testimony before the House committee, witnesses close to President Trump during the weeks and days before and during Jan. 6, 2021, have alleged that the president knew his supporters were armed, had long been planning to march on the Capitol after his early morning speech, and was unwilling to tell them to stop once the violence began.

Mr. Castelli said the fact that most of these witnesses have been Republicans, and the consistency of the stories between different people and their in-person, video and written testimony, shows the veracity of their allegations. "This dramatic insight comes from Republicans who are testifying, members of President Trump's inner circle," he said.

While Rep. Stefanik has said the Jan. 6 investigation hearings will have little impact or real results, Mr. Castelli said he thinks the committee is achieving exactly what it needs to.

"They are providing us the truth; we are getting truth we can trust in, transparency into what happened," he said. "We are all entitled to the truth, certainly about those actions and the intent in what was behind it."

Mr. Castelli is continuing his campaign sweep through the 21st Congressional District this week. He visited Evans Mills in Jefferson County later Tuesday, and planned to visit St. Lawrence, Fulton and Otsego counties on Wednesday ahead of August's primary. Voting in that election will be open early from Aug. 13 to Aug. 21. Polls will open for primary day Aug. 23.

Mr. Castelli is running for the Democratic nomination against Matthew F. Putorti, a Whitehall native and longtime corporate lawyer. The winner will be the Democratic nominee against Rep. Stefanik in November's general election, but with Mr. Castelli having secured a third-party line, it's possible all three candidates could compete in the general election.