 As the incumbent from that district, Stewart would face a tough re-election battle in 2005 when Samuel Taitt, who has become a perennial political rival for Stewart, decided to run against him for the seat yet again.One of the issues raised over the course of the campaign was a comment Stewart made that his opponents, as well as many Haitian-Americans, viewed as being derogatory towards Haitians.In response to an article published in the "New York Daily News", which accused him of being a delinquent landlord, he asserted that the poor condition of his rental properties were the result of the behavior of Haitian-Americans.