Democrat Josh Riley faces off against Republican Marc Molinaro in New York's 19th Congressional District election
- Democrat Josh Riley is running against Republican Marc Molinaro in New York's 19th Congressional District.
- The 19th District stretches from Ithaca to the Massachusetts border.
Democrat Josh Riley faces off against Republican Marc Molinaro in New York's 19th Congressional District.
New York's 19th Congressional District candidates
Riley is an attorney who formerly served as a counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Prior to running for Congress, he served as a staff assistant for former Rep. Maurice Hinchey's office, was a fellow on former Sen. Ted Kennedy's Labor & Pensions Committee staff, and a policy analyst at the Department of Labor.
Riley handily defeated his opponent Jamie Cheney in the Democratic primary, leading her by nearly 30 percentage points.
Molinaro, Riley's challenger, is the county executive for Dutchess County. First elected in 2011 at the age of 36, he was re-elected for a third term in 2019.
Molinaro was defeated by Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan in a special election in August in the 19th Congressional District in a bid to serve the remainder of former Rep. Antonio Delgado's term after he resigned to take on the role of lieutenant governor.
Prior to running for Congress, Molinaro ran an ambitious campaign in 2018 for governor of New York, only to be defeated by then-Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned in 2021 amid sexual harassment allegation.
Molinaro became the then-youngest mayor in the country's history when elected mayor of the Village of Tivoli in 1995. He was 19.
Voting history for New York's 19th Congressional District
New York's 19th Congressional District stretches from Ithaca to the Massachusetts border. It includes all of Tompkins County, parts of Cortland and all of Binghamton.
President Joe Biden won under the district's previous boundaries in 2020 before it was redrawn to add Democratic cities like Binghamton and Ithaca in redistricting following the 2020 Census, making it more favorable for Democrats.
The money race
According to OpenSecrets, Riley has raised $3.6 million, spent $2.7 million, and has $923,430 on hand, as of October 19. His opponent, Molinaro, has raised $2.2 million, spent $1.8 million, and has $455,354 cash on hand, as of October 19.
Through early November, super PACs, national party committees, and other non-candidate groups have combined to spend about $13.1 million to advocate for or against the two candidates. The Congressional Leadership Fund and the House Majority PAC account for the bulk of that spending.
What experts say
The race between Riley and Molinaro is rated as a "toss-up" by Inside Elections, a "toss-up" by The Cook Political Report, and a "toss-up" by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.