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.
Riley, a lawyer from Ithaca, told Capital Tonight that he is running for Congress because he wants to fight for the community that raised him and that upstate New York has been “sold out and overlooked.”
Molinaro, who has served as Dutchess County executive and a state assemblyman, said he is running because “government has ignored the people of upstate for too long” and he is seeking to address the rising cost of living and the nationwide uptick in crime.
According to a Spectrum News 1/Siena College poll of the district in September, Riley garnered a 5-point lead over his Republican opponent. The top issue for over half of residents in the district is the economy, with threats to democracy and abortion being key issues for a large portion of the district.
On the economy, Josh Riley said that in the short term, the government should explore tax cuts for “working families” and expand Medicare to cover hearing, dental and vision care. Riley also supports further action to lower the cost of prescription drugs. In the long term, Riley argues more goods need to be made in the United States, adding “the inflation we’re seeing right now is the consequence of really bad policies by both Democrats and Republicans that shipped a lot of our jobs overseas.”
Gas prices, which had been decreasing at a steady rate, are rising again after the OPEC+ group of nations decided to cut back on their oil output. Riley said that he supports an “all of the above energy policy” which includes an increase in domestic production. However, Riley said that climate change is a “huge challenge” which could be an economic opportunity.
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy suggested earlier this year that his conference would propose anti-abortion legislation if Republicans were able to retake the House this election. Molinaro said “Congress has no right to impose its will on the state of New York” and adds he would not support a national ban on abortion.
Nearly two years after the Jan. 6 riot, the commission tasked with investigating the events of that day has not wrapped up its investigation yet. Molinaro said he hopes the commission can finish its work by the end of the year but would not commit to voting for the commission if a vote came up to disband it.