Can the man behind a giant pro-Trump sign ride the president’s praise to Congress?

GLOVERSVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — Republican political candidates routinely highlight their devotion to President Donald Trump. But in upstate New York, Anthony Constantino is taking it to another level.

Constantino, a political newcomer and candidate in the June 23 Republican primary to succeed Rep. Elise Stefanik, boasts a giant “Vote for Trump” sign atop his successful sticker business in the city of Amsterdam. He recorded a hip-hop album titled “Thank you President Trump." He even gifted Trump a big bronze statue of Trump himself last year at his West Palm Beach golf course.

Constantino's antics have not earned him fans among local party officials, who overwhelmingly support his opponent, state Assembly Member Robert Smullen, in the 21st Congressional District race. But Constantino has won over one powerful Republican who still has the power to sway primaries: Trump.

“Anthony is strongly supported by many of the most Highly Respected MAGA Warriors in our Movement, including Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Roger Stone!” Trump wrote in an endorsement of Constantino.

The president added: “The sign is still there!”

Constantino's battle against Smullen, a former U.S. Marine Corps colonel, is shaping up to be another test of Trump's pull at the ballot box, pitting the brash MAGA disciple against a more traditional conservative in the solid-red district.

Constantino has relentlessly attacked Smullen, calling him a “Trump hater” and giving him a derisive nickname out of the Trump playbook — “Slimebob.” He also doesn't miss a chance to feud with the state's Republican leadership.

“The New York GOP is a failing establishment, it’s a losing establishment,” Constantino said in an interview. “They reject outsiders. This happened with Donald Trump. The Republican Party tried to keep Donald Trump out, as well, because they knew he was going to reform things.”

Smullen has cast himself as the adult in the room, stressing his experience in the state Legislature, his military service, and his own ties to Trump.

“I think I directly represent the vast majority of the people in this district, their values, what they think about issues,” he said.

The largely rural district sprawls across most of New York’s northern tip and includes the Adirondack Mountains, the U.S. Army's Fort Drum, dairy farms and dozens of small cities, towns and villages.

It's solid GOP territory — Stefanik won her last race by 24 points — with registered Republicans outnumbering Democrats 215,000 to 134,000. Voters there skew older and white, with many prison guards, police officers, farmers and devoutly religious people, according to Jack McGuire, an associate professor of politics at the State University of New York at Potsdam.

“It’s not your country club Republican party,” he said.

Stefanik shocked the New York political world when she announced late last year that she was suspending her campaign for governor and would not seek reelection to the House.

Her decision came after she didn't get full-throated support from Trump in the governor's race, and it followed an episode where Trump withdrew her nomination to be his ambassador to the United Nations over concerns about Republicans' threadbare majority in the House.

Local Republicans first began angling for the seat after she was tapped to head to the United Nations, only to begin circling again when she launched her run for governor.

Smullen, who represents parts of the district in the state Assembly, is running a traditional campaign, chatting up voters at volunteer firehouses and community events.

He highlights a 24-year military career that included three tours of Afghanistan and combat experience, along with his more than seven years in the state Legislature. His 2018 appointment by Trump to serve in the White House Fellows program, along with attending both of Trump's inaugurations, was a go-to line when Constantino moved to cast himself as the Trump candidate during a recent debate.

“The idea that I have never been a supporter of President Donald Trump is a lie, it really is,” Smullen said during the debate. “And what's happening here is that if you say it long enough and if you say it hard enough then it's going to be true. But it's not true.”

Local GOP officials and committees are backing Smullen, as is the chair of the state Republicans. He also has the support of the state Conservative Party, which guarantees him a line in the general election even if he loses the GOP primary.

Matt Capano, who owns a hardware store in Gloversville, a small city in the district, said he knew Smullen as his local state lawmaker and had to “give him a lot of credit” because of his experience.

Constantino — who found success with his company Sticker Mule — is more of a showman. His style has forced his buttoned-up opponent to let loose. Smullen's campaign launched an anti-Constantino website that excoriates him for, among many other things, his past registration as a Democrat.

“I am the conservative Republican in this race,” Smullen said at the debate.

Constantino responded that he registered as a Democrat to vote for a childhood friend who was running for political office while calling himself a “lifelong conservative."

It didn't take long for him to steer the conversation back toward the president.

“I've always had his back through the whole thing,” he said of Trump. “In fact, in 2020, when he nicely exited the White House and a terrible person named Joe Biden entered, I went and I supported the president quietly by buying a Mar-a-Lago membership."

New York Assembly member Robert Smullen stands for a photo at the New York Capitol building in Albany, New York, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Hill)

Anthony Constantino, a Republican candidate for Congress, stands in front of a "Vote for Trump" sign on the roof of his printing company, Sticker Mule, in Amsterdam, New York, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Hill)

Anthony Constantino, a Republican candidate for Congress, stands next to the large "Vote for Trump" sign on the roof of his printing company, Sticker Mule, in Amsterdam, New York, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Hill)

NEW YORK (AP) — Olivia Rodrigo’s done it again. Her third album, “You seem pretty sad for a girl so in love,” is her best yet — a giant step forward for the songwriter who emerged a promising young talent before she could even parallel park.

Across 13 tracks, Rodrigo telegraphs the story of a romance — from a first date to its dissolution, with a lot of self-realization along the way. It's a concept album about a first big love — one that dares to dive into the revelation that sometimes the greatest mirror is revealing yourself to another.

The world's introduction to Rodrigo arrived with the power ballad heard ‘round the world: 2021’s smash “drivers license,” leading to her spirited power pop-punk debut, “SOUR.” Then came “GUTS,” a musical maturation from an artist entering her 20s, and an acute reminder that there are few forces more potent than a young creative woman’s dissatisfaction — if she so chooses to wield it.

And she did, like on the Babes In Toyland-esq. “All-American Bitch,” inspired by Joan Didion’s “The White Album,” or “Pretty Isn’t Pretty,” with its dreamy guitar tones that recalled The Cure. That song might've been the best indication of what was to come. The first single from her latest album, “Drop Dead,” name-checks the ‘80s band’s best-known love song, “Just Like Heaven.” The second was titled “The Cure,” with its orchestral strings and an explosive bridge. And the third song, revealed onstage at Barcelona's Primavera Festival just ahead of the album's release? Her first-ever collaboration, “What's Wrong with Me,” a duet with The Cure mastermind Robert Smith. The Cure's lush guitar tones are also heard on the standout “Maggots for Brains” — gothic love songs, Rodrigo's got a few.

On “You seem pretty sad for a girl so in love,” she once again teamed up with principal collaborator Dan Nigro, and their partnership has been further refined. Their productions, now more complicated, nuanced and vibrant with the addition of elements like string arrangements, have a sort of ease of presentation: His emo guitars are still heard on “Purple,” now delivered with multi-track harmonics. Her playful expressions of girlhood crushing remain intact; now through ‘90s jangly guitar pop influences (“u + me = 3,” an easy contender for one of the best songs she’s ever written.)

But there's a lot of exciting new territory here. The cheerleading cadence of the synth-y “My Way” evokes the punk sounds of Kathleen Hanna’s Le Tigre project. By the time Rodrigo reaches her “Expectations” on track 12, she's pulling from the New Romantics movement's ebullient synths and robotic vocals in a cheeky tune about hooking up with Mr. Wrong to realize it's time for Mr. Right.

At every corner, there's something to celebrate. When Rodrigo cheers “Nobody’s wanted somebody more” in the Swiftian refrain on the ballad fake out “Stupid Song,” she ascends. Those wanting her delicate moments will want to zoom to the piano-forward “Honeybee,” which features choirlike background vocals, partially courtesy her friend Conan Gray — or the acoustic “Begged,” with its overdubbed vocal harmonies. Or even the broken “Less,” with its clever devastation. But it's the big feeling up-tempo moments listeners will want to live within.

There are no unimpeachable formulas in music, but there is a widely held belief that a first album is an introduction — the one an artist has their whole life to work on — the second builds off the first and the third is a moment of catharsis. Ideally, on that record, they've arrived at a more evolved version of who they've worked to become. Nothing is so simple, of course, but Rodrigo seems to be a shining example. She seems pretty self-actualized, for a girl so open to falling hard.

“You seem pretty sad for a girl so in love” by Olivia Rodrigo

Four and a half stars out of five.

On repeat: “u + me = 3,” “Maggots for Brains,” “The Cure”

Skip it: “Honeybee”

For fans of: Guitar pop, big hooks, bigger heart

FILE - Olivia Rodrigo performs during the Glastonbury Festival in Worthy Farm, Somerset, England, June 29, 2025. (Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)