New York officials started a cascade of announcements for congressional office on Monday after the state's new boundaries for its 26 U.S. House of Representative seats were released just before noon.
Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan will run for Congress in New York's new 18th District, the Democratic lawmaker announced on Twitter on Monday.
"As currently drawn, this map represents the area where I was born and raised, where I graduated from West Point, and where I currently live, serve as Ulster County Executive and am raising my two young sons with my wife Rebecca," Ryan said. "In the coming days, I will be announcing more about my campaign and the steps that we will take to ensure that we can hold this seat, fight back against Washington extremism, and restore trust and faith in our democracy."
Ryan's announcement came within an hour after the court-appointed special master released draft maps of the state's new congressional districts. The 18th District, as drawn now, would make up southern Ulster, most of Dutchess County and all of Orange County.
Ryan's name was first to be floated as a candidate to replace U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado in the 19th District, who is expected to resign before the end of the month to become lieutenant governor.
The new 19th District no longer incudes Dutchess County, but Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, a Republican, announced he will continue to run in the 19th District he's campaigned for since last September.
"These are all communities I’ve gotten to know well since my gubernatorial run in 2018," Molinaro said Monday. "I’ve spent countless hours and driven thousands of miles meeting old friends and making new friends in this proposed district. I’m running to represent the people of the New York 19th Congressional District."
Most recently representing the 18th District has been Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, who said on Monday if these new boundaries are finalized, he will run in the 17th District, which includes Putnam and Rockland counties, and parts of Dutchess and Westchester counties.
"While the process to draw these maps without the legislature is against the will of voters, if the newly-announced maps are finalized, I will run in New York's 17th Congressional District. NY-17 includes my home and many of the Hudson Valley communities I currently represent," Maloney said on Twitter.
Assemblymember Colin Schmitt, a Republican from New Windsor, will continue to campaign as the 18th District's Republican and Conservative candidate.
"It's clear as day that with the withdrawl of [Sean Patrick Maloney], the DCCC chair from this race we were winning and that no matter the candidate we face off against in November, we will win," Schmitt wrote Monday on Twitter.
Maloney's decision also pushed Hudson Valley state Sen. James Skoufis, a Democrat from Woodbury, to announce he is weighing throwing his hat into the race for the new 18th Congressional District.
"In light of the new map and Congressman Maloney's decision to run in NY-17, I am seriously considering a run for the House of Representatives," Skoufis said in an announcement on Twitter. "...My team and I have beaten formidable opponents every two years — in a Trump district each and every time — while maintaining a laser-focused vision on delivering for the Hudson Valley and upholding our Democratic ideals. My family, team and I will be weighing our options and making a decision in the very near future."
Some lawmakers have been weighing a congressional run since the leak of the U.S. Supreme Court's draft decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. State Sen. Brad Hoylman, a Manhattan Democrat, also announced on social media he is exploring starting a campaign to run for the new 10th Congressional District.
U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, a Democrat serving his seventh term, announced he would seek re-election in the reshaped 20th District if the map is finalized, but expressed disappointment the new lines removes Saratoga Springs and Amsterdam from the Capital Region's district.
"Our priorities remain with the people," he said on a thread posted to Twitter. "...I urge the [special master] to listen to the voters in the Capital District in his final maps. Anything less hamstrings our ability to get things done for our communities."
Elise Stefanik, the North Country congresswoman who serves as the House's third-ranking Republican, quickly announced her intent to seek re-election in the rebranded 21st District, which absorbed northern pieces of the previous 20th seat.
“I look forward to running for re-election in NY-21 where I have been honored and humbled to earn historic support every election cycle!" she said. "I will always work my very hardest to deliver real results for the hardworking families in Upstate New York and the North Country.”