The race for the 19th Congressional District is one of the most competitive in the country and remains a toss-up just days before the election.
The 11-county district spans from the Hudson Valley to the Finger Lakes, and is one of five critical seats in New York that could determine control of the U.S. House of Representatives next year.
Tuesday's rematch between Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro and Democrat Josh Riley has become the most expensive House race in the country.
Republicans stumping for Molinaro last week said they are knocking on thousands of doors and holding special events to make calls to re-elect Molinaro, who bested Riley in 2022 by about 4,500 votes, or 2% of the ballots.
And this year's rematch is expected to be just as close with candidates spending over $45 million.
"And you wonder why we can't win elections?" state Assemblyman Chris Tague asked at a campaign stop for Molinaro in Oneonta last week. "It's not because New York City's too strong, it's because we don't get people out to vote."
Molinaro lost his voice on the campaign trail and visited the district's 11 counties in a single day.
"The fate of this country will be determined by this seat," the freshman congressman told supporters at the Otsego County Republican Committee headquarters. "The majority was decided here two years ago, and it will be decided here now."
If reelected, Molinaro said he will secure the border and deport undocumented immigrants with a criminal background.
Meanwhile, Riley has blasted his opponent for not supporting a biparisan Senate immigration bill earlier this year.
The pair have spent millions on attack ads that have flooded the airwaves of the 19th District for weeks — focusing on their rhetoric on immigration and abortion rights.
"If I get to Congress, I'm going to sponsor the Women's Health Protection Act — that's federal legislation that's going to put Roe v. Wade back into law so women can make their own health care decisions," Riley said Sunday after a rally in Columbia County.
Molinaro supports states dictating abortion policy, and says he does not support a federal ban.
Prominent party leaders have joined both candidates on the trail. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will campaign with Molinaro and Riley on Friday — finishing a tour with several battleground candidates this week.
New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, who held the congressional seat from 2019 to 2022, also rallied for Riley over the weekend.
"They wanna call themselves patriots when the fact of the matter is, they don't seek power to enable people, they don't seek power to free people, they seek power to control... control your bodies, control reproductive rights," Delgado told a crowd in Hudson.
The event for Democrats in Columbia County showcased the diversity of voters in the purple 19th District.
A few cars draped in Trump flags blared their horns to interrupt the rally and a small group of pro-Palestinean protestors tried to drown out Riley's speech.
Steven Taylor, who's knocked on hundreds of doors campaigning for Riley, says he's heard potential voters express concerns about the economy the most.
"It's about the economy, it's about the 'I work two jobs, I'm concernd about am I going to get a raise and how much am I going to be able to make?'" Taylor recalled of his door-knocking discussions.
Volunteers from both campaigns said they dedicated more money to staff and voter outreach than in 2022.
But in the end, it will come down to which candidate will pull stronger numbers to their side and who can work across the aisle.
Otsego Republican Party Chair Daniel Koerner noted Molinaro was named the second-most bipartisan member of Congress, and echoed upstate New Yorkers are most concerned about the high cost of living.
"Our families are hurting, we can't afford anything," Koerner said. "Groceries, gas, all these things are all the way up."
New York is not a battleground state in the presidential race, but the matchup between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris could help sway the congressional contests.
The 19th District had about 775,000 people in 2022, and stands in a political dead heat at the top of the ticket.
Voters in the district were just about tied in 2020, in throwing support behind President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, with about 5,000 votes more for Biden.
The district has 1,044 fewer registered Democrats, 199 more registered Republican voters and 2,230 fewer independent voters since 2022, according to state Board of Elections data.