North Country Democratic leaders Wednesday interviewed four prospective candidates in anticipation of a special election in the Republican stronghold 21st Congressional District.

Rep. Elise Stefanik is expected to be confirmed as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the coming days, which would force her resignation and create a vacancy in the seat. A crowd of candidates stands ready and waiting to enter a special election for the seat, which will likely take place this spring.

Fifteen Democratic county chairs virtually questioned four candidates for hours to determine who will be the party's best nominee to run in the district — a rural, deeply red district that includes the cities of Glens Falls, Watertown and Plattsburgh.

"We are taking this very seriously," state Democratic Party Assistant Treasurer Lynne Boecher told Spectrum News 1. "We are looking for the right candidate who will speak to voters across the district."

Boecher would not say who state Democratic leaders are considering for the potential race. Party leaders have not voted on a candidate to date.

If confirmed, Stefanik, who pledged at Tuesday's confirmation hearing to push President Donald Trump’s “America First” stance, would resign — forcing Gov. Kathy Hochul to schedule a special election. 

Paula Collins challenged Stefanik in November and was one of the four people to be interviewed Wednesday.

"I was really happy to see the committee members and to have an engaging discussion," she said.

Collins was a cannabis tax attorney in New York City who moved to the North Country about a year-and-a-half ago. Collins said she's confident she can make inroads with moderate and independent voters, even though registered Republicans outnumber Democrats in the district three to one.

"There's a lot of moderate Republicans who voted for me in November," she said Wednesday "And so, it is definitely possible for a Democrat to find their way through."

The field of potential Republican nominees is even more crowded as Stefanik and other GOP leaders weigh a long list of names, including state Assemblyman Chris Tague, state Sen. Dan Stec, former Rep. Marc Molinaro and several others.

Several Republican sources Wednesday said loyalty to Trump is high priority in selecting the party's nominee, who will likely succeed Stefanik.

Several declined comment, or to be interviewed, until Stefanik's confirmation and the congressional vacancy become official.

"At this time, out of respect to Congresswoman Stefanik and the Republican and Consevative chairmen in NY-21, I am not commenting on the potential Congressional District 21 race until the process is confirmed and the congresswoman is confirmed as our UN ambassador," Tague said in a statement Wednesday. "That being said, if or when the time comes, I am very interested in being a potential candidate and it would be the greatest honor to fill this seat.”

Still, other hopeful Republicans stand ready to throw their hat in the ring.

Joe Pinion, a journalist with Newsmax, said he'd be familiar to voters in the 21st district after he ran against U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer in 2022 — arguing the deep-red district can't be taken for granted.

"It is a R+9 district, and an R+9 district becomes an R+2 district very quickly when you have a candidate that people don't know," Pinion said. "When all of a sudden, you wake up to the reality that many of your prime voters may not realize there is a special election because many of them are out of town."

But critics say Pinion, who is originally from New York City, may not be best to serve the rural counties after he moved his family the district within the last year.

Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino, known for a sign backing Trump that went viral last fall, attended Trump's inauguration to gain popularity in his bid to be the Republican nominee.

He said the stakes are high not just for the state's congressional district, but for the nation.

"The Northern border is a major priority, but President Trump understands immigration very well, and I understand it very well too," Constantino said. "And I think I'd be able to work well with him to get the border completely secured as well."