BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Respect for Marriage Act will require that all states recognize marriages legally performed in other states.

U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins, a co-sponsor of the bill, said there was concern the U.S. Supreme Court could strike down previous precedent, allowing states to impose bans.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer came into the 2022 midterm elections in a very precarious position. Republicans only needed to gain one Senate seat to retake control of the upper chamber, putting an end to his brief tenure as majority leader.

Instead, the New York lawmaker will continue leading the Senate following a historic political feat. Not only did every single Democratic incumbent senator win re-election — an accomplishment no party in power has achieved since the 1930s — but he will be a leader with one more member of his caucus, confirmed by Sen. Raphael Warnock's victory over Republican Herschel Walker in Tuesday’s Georgia Senate runoff election.

For Brian Mandel, part of his political identity lives in his garage: a license plate from his time in Washington, D.C.

“I went to D.C. for college, and I spent about 10 years down there before I moved back up to the Hudson Valley,” Mandel said. “I learned a lot while I was there, it was a really great place to become engaged, and to learn about how politics works, the good and bad of it.”

The midterm elections have come and gone. As the final puzzle pieces to the next Congress fall into place, Republicans will retake the House of Representatives in January while the Senate will stay in Democratic hands, a sign that political divisions in this country continue to run deep.

Timothy Finnegan wears many hats. He’s a veteran, a volunteer firefighter, and the owner of Finnegan’s Pub in Woodbury.

Now that she’ll officially be representing the 24th district in Congress come January, Claudia Tenney is getting a jump start on learning some of the issues she will encounter.

The district covers a large portion of Lake Ontario and even parts of the St. Lawrence River. It’s been about a year now.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries on Friday officially tossed his name into the race to replace Nancy Pelosi as Democratic House leader, writing a letter to colleagues asking for their support.

"When I initially sought the position of Chair of the House Democratic Caucus two terms ago, none of us could have predicted the challenges the American people would confront in the years to come," Jeffries wrote. "However, time and time again, throughout a period of enormous turmoil for our nation, House Democrats rose to the occasion.

Despite a nationwide “red ripple," the Republican Party was able to gain some key congressional seats in New York which helped pave the way to a small House majority.

State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, a Bronx Democrat who will be leaving office in January, is one of a growing number of Democrats looking for change at the top of her own party following the midterm elections. Biaggi told Capital Tonight that a lack of strategy and long-term vision by the party’s current chair, Jay Jacobs, led to the party’s defeats in New York.

Republican Brandon Williams will represent Central New York in the House of Representatives after defeating Democrat Francis Conole in the race for New York's 22nd Congressional District, the Associated Press projected late Monday, concluding one of the most closely watched competitive contests in the state and nation.

The software company founder and U.S. Navy veteran will succeed Republican Rep. John Katko in Congress, keeping the seat in Republican hands and once again dashing Democrats’ hopes of flipping the Syracuse-based district to their column.

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik has been re-elected by her peers as chair of the House Republican Conference during the GOP's leadership elections Tuesday.

The position makes Stefanik the third most powerful Republican in the House of Representatives.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was eating Peking duck at a Chinese restaurant with family and friends on Manhattan’s West side on Saturday evening when an aide called with urgent news: Democrats would win Nevada’s Senate seat and keep their majority.

The restaurant erupted in cheers as the news flashed across a television screen, and a group celebrating a birthday sent him a slice of cake.

Despite a nationwide “red ripple," the Republican Party saw a wave election in the Empire State on the congressional level with freshman state Assemblyman Mike Lawler toppling the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Sean Patrick Maloney in New York's 17th Congressional District.

Lawler credits redistricting and voters wanting balance in a country, state and region heavily controlled by Democrats as reasons for his win.

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Despite putting up the strongest showing in a gubernatorial race since George Pataki, the Grand Old Party fell short of the Executive Mansion yet again but the party’s chairman, Nick Langworthy, still touts the results in New York as very good.

Langworthy highlights major congressional wins on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley as Republican bright spots in an election that was considered a red ripple over a wave election nationwide.

U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, the man charged with electing Democrats to the House of Representatives, has conceded the race for the 17th Congressional District between him and state Assemblyman Mike Lawler.

According to the latest unofficial vote totals, Lawler leads Maloney 50.6% to 49.4%, with a vote difference of around 3,250 votes, as of Wednesday morning. Maloney conceded Wednesday morning.

It’s been a tough year for New York Democrats.

Fresh off the traumatic resignation of Gov. Andrew Cuomo in August 2021, the party took a drubbing at the polls that November in several down-ballot races, particularly in Long Island.

Republican Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro has defeated Democrat Josh Riley in the race for New York’s 19th Congressional District, the Associated Press projects, returning the Hudson Valley and Southern Tier seat to Republican hands after four years.

With 95% of the expected vote reporting, the Dutchess County executive leads 51% to Riley's 49%, a vote difference of 6,185 votes.

Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik greeted an eager crowd in Queensbury to celebrate winning her fifth term representing the 21st District on Tuesday night.

She's the projected winner over Democrat Matt Castelli with nearly 59% of the vote early Wednesday morning, according to unofficial results from the state Board of Elections.

Rep. Paul Tonko was re-elected to an eighth term representing the Capital Region in Congress, the Associated Press projected.

The Democratic lawmaker defeated Republican Liz Joy in a rematch of the 2020 race for New York’s 20th Congressional District.

Rep. Joe Morelle has won a third full term in Congress, the Associated Press projects, defeating Republican challenger La’Ron Singletary.

Morelle will return to Washington to represent the Rochester area in the 25th Congressional District seat, which encompasses all of Monroe County and five towns on the eastern border of Orleans County.

Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan has secured a full term in Congress, defeating Republican Colin Schmitt in the race for New York’s 18th Congressional District after Schmitt conceded early Wednesday morning.

With 93% of votes counted early Wednesday, Ryan held a modest 50.4% to 49.6% lead over Schmitt, according to The Associated Press.

Rep. Claudia Tenney will be going back to Congress as a representative for the new 24th District. The Republican lawmaker defeated Democrat Steven Holden in the race for the congressional seat that snakes along much of Lake Ontario’s shoreline, the Associated Press projects.

This is the first time Tenney has won a re-election bid as a member of Congress.

Democratic Rep. Brian Higgins has been re-elected to a 10th term in Congress, defeating Republican challenger Steven Sams in the race for New York’s 26th Congressional District, the Associated Press projects.

Higgins has represented the Western New York district since 2005. The new boundaries encompass Buffalo and Niagara Falls.

State Republican Party Chair Nick Langworthy has bested Democrat Max Della Pia in the race for New York’s 23rd Congressional District, The Associated Press projected.

Langworthy will fill the Western New York House seat that was vacated by Republican Rep. Chris Jacobs this spring when he decided not to run for re-election.

New York voters head to the polls Tuesday to consider all statewide offices in Albany, a U.S. Senate seat, 26 congressional seats and all 213 seats in the state Legislature.

There are judgeships up for grabs, local ballot questions and a proposed $4.2 billion bond act for environmental infrastructure for voters to consider as well.

Election Day is just days away and the race for New York’s 22nd Congressional District between Democrat Francis Conole and Republican Brandon Williams is one of the most closely watched House contests in the state.

An exclusive Spectrum News 1/Siena College poll released Friday, compared to one released a month ago, provides some insight before votes actually begin being tabulated.

For decades, Oneida County has been the anchor of one of upstate New York’s congressional seats. And regardless of its boundaries over years of redistricting, its representatives — from Sherwood Boehlert to Claudia Tenney — have hailed from the Mohawk Valley.

That has now changed.

Democrat Francis Conole has pulled ahead of Republican Brandon Williams in the race for New York’s 22nd Congressional District, though the race remains a close one, an exclusive Spectrum News 1/Siena College poll released Friday found.

The poll shows Conole drawing 46% of support, with 42% saying they are backing Williams. That's a reversal from an exclusive Spectrum News 1/Siena College poll from early October, which had Williams leading Conole 45% to 40% for the Central New York House seat. With a four-point difference between the two, the result falls within the survey’s 5-point margin of error.

Democratic congressional candidate Josh Riley holds a 5-percentage point advantage over Republican Marc Molinaro in the 19th Congressional District, according to an exclusive Spectrum News 1/Siena College poll released on Friday morning.

The poll shows no change in the gap between the two candidates when an earlier poll was released on Oct. 6. And the difference in support for Molinaro and Riley is within the poll's 5-percentage point margin of error.

Voters in New York's 19th Congressional District could help determine which party controls the House of Representatives come January. In just five days, Democrat Josh Riley and Republican Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro will face off in a district that spans from Binghamton to the Massachusetts border.

The district is currently represented by Democrat Pat Ryan who bested Molinaro in a special election to fill the remainder of Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado’s unexpired term. Ryan is running for re-election in the 18th District due to redistricting.

His surprise victory over the summer gave Democrats nationwide a jolt of hope.

In August, Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat, won a special election to replace Antonio Delgado in Congress. His win sparked questions: Could the much talked about "red wave" in this November’s midterms be more of a "trickle?"

Congressional races in the Hudson Valley continue to intensify as some races are shaping up to be a photo finish.

Former President Bill Clinton made a few stops in the region in an effort to shore up issues and energize the base of Democratic voters.

Two years ago, Rep. Paul Tonko defeated Republican challenger Liz Joy by more than 20 points. The two are running against each other again this year in Congressional District 20.

Tonko and Joy hold major differences in positions on several topics, including inflation and the economy.

Elections are right around the corner. Two primary winners are vying for the newly redrawn 22nd congressional district.

"Voters are paying attention to integrity. As much as they are the message," said Republican candidate Brandon Williams.

The man tasked with keeping Democrats in power in the U.S. House of Representatives is in the fight for his own political life back home.

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney is at risk of losing his grasp on New York’s 17th Congressional District, located just north of the five boroughs.

Democrat Francis Conole and Republican Brandon Williams have spent two months making their case to voters in the new competitive — and unpredictable — 22nd Congressional District, and have a week left to get through to voters.

The voters are from a district that includes all of Onondaga, Madison and Oneida counties, as well as a small sliver of southeastern Oswego County. Comprising the cities of Syracuse, Utica and Rome, as well as large rural swaths of Central New York and the Mohawk Valley, the district has a diverse electorate from varied walks of life.

One of the major changes when it came to redrawing the state’s congressional lines, is the new 24th district. This new creation is close to 250 miles from one end to the other and close to 700 square miles in all. The two candidates hoping to represent the 24th, understand the challenges of a new region and the need to bring people together.

“I was in Niagara County last night. I’m here today. I’m going to be in Wayne County. I’m going to be in just about every county this week. Within a week, I try to hit 12 counties,” U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney said.

As he debated his Republican opponent Joe Pinion Sunday night, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer defended his record as a top Democrat in Washington.

"In the last two years under my leadership, the Senate has had the most productive session in decades," Schumer said.

With early voting underway in New York state, Democrat and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and his Republican challenger, Joseph Pinion, faced off in a televised debate on Spectrum News in the race for one of New York's seats in the upper chamber.

The one-hour event, held at Union College, was moderated by "Inside City Hall" host Errol Louis and "Capital Tonight" political anchor Susan Arbetter.

One man is fighitng to keep his thin Senate majority intact. The other man wants to make history.

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and his Republican rival Joe Pinion will face off Sunday in an exclusive debate on Spectrum News 1 and NY1 in what is expected to be the only televised debate of the campaign.

On the tarmac at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse on Thursday stood a lot of powerful political leaders at a time with a lot of political power at stake.

President Joe Biden touched down in Air Force 1 and was greeted by, among others, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer.

First Lady Jill Biden will visit New York state over the weekend to give remarks at political events, including one with Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney and congressional candidate Robert Zimmerman.

Biden will be in Mount Kisco, in Westchester County, on Sunday with Maloney, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Rep. Elise Stefanik's office on Wednesday is releasing a letter to state labor officials calling for a reversal of New York's plan to lower the overtime threshold for farm workers from 60 hours a week to 40.

Republicans who represent New York in the House of Representatives sent the letter as part of the public comment period before the change goes into effect by the end of the year.

The announcement earlier this month of Micron’s $100 billion investment in a chip manufacturing facility in Central New York has been lauded by politicians of both parties and all office levels.

President Joe Biden will visit the region on Thursday to add his voice to that choir.

As Republicans try to win back power in the halls of Congress, the third-ranking Republican lawmaker in Washington is pledging to ramp up investigations.

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik says that will include subpoenas of New York ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

With about two weeks before Election Day, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is investing more than half a million dollars into a new TV advertisement for Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney — the chair of the DCCC — in his bid for the 17th Congressional District in New York’s Hudson Valley.

The DCCC confirmed to Spectrum News 1 Monday that the DCCC is spending $605,000 on the ad attacking Maloney's opponent to “ensure we hold a seat that is critical to Democrats maintaining the majority.”

The congressional race in Central New York between Democrat Francis Conole and Republican Brandon Williams will be one to watch in a close race for power in the House of Representatives.

Francis Conole, an Iraq War veteran, told Capital Tonight that he’s running because the country and his community faces “incredible challenges and a multitude of crises” that he wants to confront.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The man accused of attacking Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin at a July rally in Western New York is set to be released from custody next week and admitted to an alcohol treatment program.

A federal magistrate judge ordered David Jakubonis's release for Monday under a series of conditions, including he immediately check into the inpatient alcohol treatment center at the Bath VA Medical Center. The defendant's attorney, John DeMarco, said the rehabilitation program should take roughly 28 days, then he will be at the Richards House, a Veterans Outreach Center facility in downtown Rochester.

The winner of the race in New York's 18th Congressional District could determine the balance of power in the House of Representatives in the coming November elections and Spectrum News 1 hosted the only televised debate in the race at Marist College on Tuesday.

Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan, who won a special election in August to fill the remainder of the term in the 19th District, is facing off against Republican state Assemblyman Colin Schmitt.

The newly drawn 25th Congressional District of New York, which sits along the southern coast of Lake Ontario, includes most of Orleans County and all of Monroe County — basically the city of Rochester and its surroundings. While the city has some of the highest child poverty rates in the country, and the city’s school district has been on the brink of bankruptcy, many of the suburbs that surround the city are quite wealthy and tout some of the best schools in the country.

The two candidates are also very different. Democrat and incumbent Rep. Joe Morelle, who served the area for years in the state Assembly, is vying for his third full term in Congress, while Republican La’Ron Singletary is a former Rochester police chief and relative newcomer to electoral politics.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- This week some voters have received robocalls asking for opinions on the job performance of current Democratic Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and who they would prefer in a county executive's race next year between him and current Republican Rep. Chris Jacobs.

GOP analyst Jeff Williams said he's aware of the poll, although he's not sure who is behind it.

The New York League of Conservation Voters on Wednesday formally released its final slate of endorsements for the 2022 general election, backing 22 candidates in key races across the state.

The group's endorsements come as environmental organizations are also pushing for the approval of a bond act to boost environmental infrastructure in the state.

After back-to-back mass shootings last spring, including one that killed 10 people at a supermarket not far from his suburban Buffalo home, Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Jacobs made a decision.

If an assault weapons ban came to the House floor, he would support it, he told voters in his conservative congressional district.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer agreed to a Spectrum News debate with his Republican challenger Joseph Pinion on Sunday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m.

Schumer, who began his tenure as majority leader in 2021, is seeking his fifth term in the U.S. Senate. Pinion is a former Newsmax host and is the Republican and Conservative parties nominee to take on Schumer, becoming the first Black person to receive a major party's nomination for Senate in New York.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Yonkers native Joe Pinion played football at Colgate University. Now he's trying to tackle Chuck Schumer.

The U.S. Senate candidate isn't well-known by most New Yorkers, but he's a political commentator, securing his own cable show on Newsmax which he left when he chose to run for office.

Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan's bid for a full term in Congress was endorsed Thursday by Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa.

The endorsement from Figueroa in a 30-second video comes weeks after Ryan was first elected to Congress in an Aug. 24 special election to replace Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado in what had been a battleground House seat in the Hudson Valley.

New York veteran lawmaker Charles Schumer is seeking a fifth term in the Senate.

This time, he has a powerful title to his name: Majority Leader.

With Election Day just over a month away, the Onondaga County Board of Elections is making preparations.

They said they are busy preparing for what they expect to be a larger than normal turnout for an election year.

With the midterm elections just over a month away and concerns about the economy atop voters’ minds, New York Democrats at various office levels seized the opportunity to tout major announcements in technological manufacturing projects this week in several parts of the state, as well as the legislation instrumental in making those projects possible.

The climax came on Thursday with a visit by President Joe Biden in Poughkeepsie to celebrate the announcement that IBM will invest $20 billion to cover research, development and manufacturing of semiconductors, quantum computing and artificial intelligence across the Hudson Valley over the next decade.

Democratic congressional candidate Josh Riley holds a 5-percentage point advantage over Republican Marc Molinaro in the 19th Congressional District race, an exclusive Spectrum News/Siena College poll released Thursday morning found.

The poll found Riley drawing 46% of the vote compared to Molinaro's 41%. That is within a 5 percentage-point margin of error of a survey of 470 likely voters conducted in the district from Sept. 25 to Sept. 28.

The race for New York's 23rd Congressional District is taking shape with crime, abortion and the cost of living taking center stage in the faceoff between Democrat Max Della Pia and Republican Nick Langworthy.

The redesigned district stretches from Chemung County in the Southern Tier to the suburbs of Erie County in Western New York.

Before Rep. John Katko’s tenure representing Central New York in Congress, the Syracuse-based district swung back and forth politically for a few election cycles, voting out the incumbent party for a decade. And despite Katko’s comfortable re-election victories, his seat has always been viewed by both parties as a competitive one every two years.

Following Katko’s decision not to seek another term, a messy redistricting process that amended the district’s borders and a lively primary race for both parties in August, an exclusive Spectrum News/Siena College poll released Tuesday provides the best indicator yet that the new district and the race to succeed Katko remains a competitive one.

Democratic lawmakers in Congress are urging the Biden administration to further ease cross-border travel restrictions after Canada lifted travel regulations earlier this week.

Border communities near Canada have struggled economically during the pandemic as travel was limited. Canada on Oct. 1 lifted COVID-19 related rules for testing and vaccinations.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer is taking a victory lap after microchip-manufacturer Micron Technology announced plans for a major new factory in Central New York.

Over the summer, Schumer spearheaded the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act — a bill the Micron CEO said Tuesday was “essential” in their decision to make the investment.

Republican Brandon Williams draws 45% of support from voters in New York's 22nd Congressional District compared to the 40% of voters backing his Democratic opponent, Francis Conole, an exclusive Spectrum News/Siena College poll released Tuesday found.

The district in Central New York, comprising Madison, Oneida, Onondaga and part of Oswego counties, is part of a region that has long been a battleground area for both parties in Congress and could be a key seat as they vie for control of the House of Representatives this election season.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand called for a review of the federal milk pricing system in order to help modernize how farmers are paid for their products.

Gillibrand's push to have the U.S. Government Accountability Office review the pricing system dovetails with a bill she introduced that would make changes to how farmers are compensated.

Note: This is the second installment of a two-part series. Spectrum News 1 featured a three-part series about Stefanik's rise through the Republican Party earlier this month.

New Yorkers in the 21st Congressional District, represented by Republican Elise Stefanik, have continued to support the congresswoman as she's moved politically farther to the right since taking office in 2015.

Note: This is part one of a two-part series. Spectrum News 1 featured a three-part series about Stefanik's rise through the Republican party earlier this month.

Former CIA officer Matt Castelli, a Democrat campaigning for the 21st Congressional District seat, says his middle-of-the-road platform would bring much-needed change in the North Country.

New York's 17th Congressional District in the lower Hudson Valley race pits current 18th District incumbent Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney against first-term state Assemblyman Republican Michael Lawler, of Rockland County.

It’s Maloney’s race to lose: not only does he have the benefit of incumbency, he is the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, so he’s responsible for getting Democrats elected this cycle.

WEST SENECA, N.Y. -- National Grid is forecasting typical customers will pay about $263 or 39% more than last year on natural gas between the beginning of November and end of March in order to heat their homes.

"That is a staggering increase that is simply unaffordable for many, many people across Western New York and the Southern Tier," Republican congressional candidate Nick Langworthy said.

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik intends to run again for chair of the House Republican Conference in the next Congress, she announced Tuesday.

“For the next 56 days, I’m laser-focused on working to ensure we earn a historic Republican Majority. I am proud to have unified the entire Republican Conference around our country in crisis message and shattered fundraising records as House GOP Conference Chair raising over $10M for candidates and committees this cycle," the congresswoman said in a statement. "With the broad support of NY21 and my House GOP colleagues, I intend to run for Conference Chair in the next Congress.”

Republicans running for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York on Tuesday announced endorsements from key labor unions as the party hopes to build a working majority in Congress this fall.

Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro won the backing of the Civil Service Employees Association, the state's largest public workers union, in his campaign for the newly drawn 19th Congressional District in the Hudson Valley.

Democratic congressional candidate Matt Castelli on Monday is running on an additional ballot line this November in his bid against Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik.

Castelli is running on a ballot line dubbed the Moderate Party after a successful petition drive.

Travel across U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik’s sprawling North Country, New York district, and you will meet constituents who say the congresswoman has changed.

But they disagree on what that evolution means, with some welcoming it and others left frustrated.

New York's two newest members of Congress — Democrat Pat Ryan and Republican Joe Sempolinski — will be ceremonially sworn in on Tuesday after their respective victories in special elections last month.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will swear in Ryan to represent New York's 19th Congressional District and Sempolinski for the 23rd District for the remainder of this congressional term, which expires at the end of the year.

New York congressional Republicans on Thursday announced federal legislation that would block the enactment of a lower overtime threshold for agriculture workers.

The measure, backed by U.S. Reps. Elise Stefanik and Chris Jacobs, was proposed after a wage board at the state Department of Labor this week formally endorsed lowering the threshold from 60 hours a week to 40 over the next decade.

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik is back on the campaign trail, ahead of what could be the most consequential election yet for the 38-year-old Republican.

In just a few short years, Stefanik has experienced a meteoric rise to power on Capitol Hill, fueled by her embrace of former President Donald Trump.

The campaign of Democratic Rep.-elect Pat Ryan pointed to abortion rights — and connecting the issue to broader themes like democracy and freedom — helped propel his victory last month in the special election for the Hudson Valley's 19th Congressional District.

Ryan's campaign on Wednesday released a post mortem assessment of the contest to replace Democratic Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado in the House of Representatives and how he was able to secure a victory against Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro.

New York’s second primary day — a court ruling split the primaries into two this election season — is today. Elections for New York's members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the state Senate are on the ballot.

Follow along with Spectrum News' live coverage.

Decisions to run for other office and retirements have led to more competitive primaries and races on Long Island than in recent memory, according to Larry Levy, executive dean of Hofstra’s National Center for Suburban Studies.

Levy told Capital Tonight that the road to the House of Representatives majority runs through suburban communities like Long Island, which he argues is the “quintessential American suburb.”

It’s been a tumultuous year for New York’s delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Following the 2020 Census, the state lost a seat in Congress, lowering its representation in Washington to 26 members. This was followed by a politically messy redistricting process and months-long legal battle that resulted in a bifurcated primary election in the unusual voting month of August. Two incumbents bowed out of seeking re-election, candidates jumped to running in different districts multiple times, powerful incumbents were forced to run against one another, and two congressmen resigned this spring, prompting two special elections for two districts that will no longer exist in just over four months at the same time as primary elections for the very districts that will replace them.

The new 18th Congressional District includes most of the big cities in the Hudson Valley, from Newburgh north to New Paltz and Kingston. The district includes all of Orange County, most of Dutchess County and a sliver of Ulster County. While there are three Democrats running on Tuesday for their party’s nomination, there is no Republican primary. Two-term state Assemblyman Colin Schmitt is the lone Republican vying for the seat.

Schmitt is the ranking minority member on the Assembly’s Committee on Local Government. As an teenage aide to former Assemblymember Annie Rabbit, he remains the youngest Assembly aide in history.

At first, it appeared former President Donald Trump would play a role in New York’s 2022 Republican contests for Congress almost as soon as he left the White House.

In June 2021, one of Trump’s first post-presidency political targets was Rep. John Katko, who was the first House Republican to announce he would vote to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. Not too long after that vote, the Onondaga County Conservative Party announced it would not support Katko in 2022. That party’s chairman, Bernie Ment, then received a letter from Trump that said "Great move -- Katko will never win again."

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Republican congressional candidate for New York's 23rd District Carl Paladino on a Breitbart radio program published online Saturday again created controversy talking about current U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.

"..people like Garland who should be not only impeached, he probably should be executed. The guy is just lost. He's a lost soul," Paladino said.

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik has become a national political figure in recent years, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump and a top-ranking member of the House Republican caucus.

But this summer, she's also been working to shore up Republican power in the House of Representatives for districts in her own home state of New York.

Fresh off a string of legislative victories by Democrats in Congress, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries says he’s upbeat about the November elections, declaring there is “no circumstance” where there will be a “Republican landslide.”

During an extended conversation Wednesday with reporters, the House Democratic Caucus chair touted the recent flurry of activity on Capitol Hill, including the passage of the Democrat’s long-sought climate, healthcare, and tax bill, which Congress approved without a single Republican vote.

Antonio Delgado’s elevation to the lieutenant governorship has set the stage for the highest profile special election in the country since the overturning of abortion protections in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case. Democrat Pat Ryan, the Ulster County executive, is trying to hold New York's 19th congressional seat as Republicans eye the seat as the first building block of a potential GOP majority. Ryan said he’s running in the special election despite the short tenure — four months to fill the remainder of Delgado's term — because “we are at a moment in our country, where I feel that the foundation and fabric of our democracy is at risk.”

The 19th Congressional District surrounds the Capital Region and stretches into the Hudson Valley. The current configuration of the district has been represented by Republicans Chris Gibson and John Faso until Delgado defeated Faso in 2018. The district leans Republican, according to the Cook Partisan Voting Index and narrowly voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

Alessandra Biaggi, who represents portions of the Bronx and Westchester County in the New York State Senate, is running for Congress in the newly redistricted 17th District against current NY-18 Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney.

Biaggi made a name for herself in the state Legislature, first by ousting former Independent Democratic Conference head Jeff Klein in 2018, and then by resurrecting the all-but-dead Senate Ethics Committee. Additionally, she held hearings on sexual harassment in the state Legislature and subsequently helped establish new laws to address sexual harassment in the workplace.

One of the hottest primaries in New York state is the race for the new 17th Congressional District. The new map will include Putnam and Rockland counties, as well as a sliver of Dutchess County and a much larger chunk of Westchester.

The reason so many eyes are on this race is that the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — the guy in charge of getting Democrats elected — is sort of the incumbent. Sort of, because U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney currently represents the 18th Congressional District, and his decision to run in the 17th put some noses out of joint, including the nose of the congressman who currently represents NY-17 — Mondaire Jones.

The race for New York’s newly redistricted 22nd Congressional District is wide open, which means the Aug. 23 primaries could be quite competitive, though turnout is not expected to be high.

But let’s start at the beginning.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The U.S. House of Representatives currently has a handful of outspoken, often controversial, and solidly pro-Trump Republican members, like Georgia's Marjorie Taylor Greene and Florida's Matt Gaetz.

Carl Paladino said, if elected, he expects to be part of that group.

Midterm elections are traditionally bad cycles for an incumbent party, like the Democrats this year, but a tightening in the polls could lead to a close finish for whoever controls Congress come January.

Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion and assistant professor of political science at Marist College, said congressional districts like the 19th in the Hudson Valley and Southern Tier will get a lot of national attention and could be “critical” as each party pushes for control.

Former President Bill Clinton endorsed U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney's re-election bid amid a Democratic primary scheduled for Aug. 23.

Clinton's endorsement for Maloney came the same day as the Hudson Valley lawmaker was also endorsed by the New York State United Teachers, a labor organization.

Some voters in New York's 23rd Congressional District will be voting in two congressional races on Aug. 23.

The race between Nick Langworthy and Carl Paladino for the Republican nomination for the new NY-23 has been well-publicized. The winner of that primary will go on to face Democrat Max Della Pia in November’s general election.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Voters in New York's new 23rd Congressional District should be very familiar with the impact of Congressional insider trading.

A portion of the district is currently NY-27, where former U.S. Rep. Chris Collins was re-elected in 2018 while indicted for insider trading and resigned months later just ahead of the Department of Justice officially charging him.

CLARENCE, N.Y. -- Congressional candidate Nick Langworthy said in the new 23rd District that spans seven counties and two television markets that he believes it's very important he and his opponent get a chance to get directly in front of voters and debate.

"I'm calling on Carl, come on out of hiding, get out of the basement of the Ellicott Square building. Agree to debate, any time, any place. You have a lot to say behind your spokesman, but it's time for us to go and have this conversation in front of the voters of this district," Langworthy said.