NY congressional district 19: Who are Marc Molinaro and Josh Riley?

NEW YORK - This Election Day, New York voters are choosing between Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro and Democrat Josh Riley for the tightly contested U.S. House seat to represent the state's 19th congressional district.

The race for NY-19, representing parts of Hudson Valley, the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier regions, is considered one of the most competitive in the entire U.S. Politico has dubbed it "New York's nastiest," and a glut of ad spending has made it the state's most expensive.

Here's what you need to know about the candidates, what polls are saying and how to track 2024 election results for New York's 19th congressional district.

NY-19 election results

What polls say

This is considered one of the most tightly contested House races in the 2024 election, with the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rating NY-19 as a "toss up." 538 also forecast this race to be neck and neck.

According to a recently published poll from NewsChannel 13/SurveyUSA, Riley has a four-point lead over Molinaro.

In 2022, Molinaro narrowly defeated Riley in the race for NY-19 with a margin of 1.6% – a handful less than 4,500 votes, per vote count data from The Associated Press. 

Who is Rep. Marc Molinaro?

Molinaro entered politics as soon as he was old enough to vote – at just 19, he was elected mayor of Tivoli, Dutchess County, becoming the youngest mayor in the country at that time, according to his campaign website.

He worked his way up the New York State Republican political ladder. After his five terms as mayor, he was elected to the Dutchess County Legislature before serving in the state assembly and later as county executive. In 2018, he unsuccessfully ran against Andrew Cuomo for New York governor.

Throughout his political career, Molinaro had a reputation for working across the aisle and courted moderate voters by distancing himself from former President Donald Trump.  

But according to the New York Times, Molinaro has pivoted to the right for this campaign, a shift noticed by allies and voters alike. He has vocalized support for Trump's tough anti-immigration policies and even shared conspiracy theories related to the Republican nominee's debunked claims about Haitian immigrants eating Springfield, Ohio, residents' pets.

"The public now is angry," Molinaro told the Times, defending his political turn. "And the people I represent are furious."

He lives with his wife and three children.

Who is Josh Riley?

Riley was born and raised in Endicott, an Upstate New York town near Binghamton. According to his campaign website, Riley's career in politics was inspired by his childhood: He watched local factories close and saw "his community struggle while Wall Street enjoyed soaring corporate profits."

A graduate of Harvard Law School, Riley joined the workforce as a private practice lawyer. His experience in politics includes work as a policy analyst for the Department of Labor, as a staff assistant to former Rep. Maurice Hinchey and as general counsel to former Sen. Al Franken, WSKG reported.

Riley has been open to criticism of his Democratic counterparts, especially on immigration, and touted his bipartisan efforts as a general counsel. Molinaro has used Riley's background to frame him as a part of the "corporate elite."

He now lives in Ithaca with his wife and two children.

Where the candidates stand

Immigration

Riley has distanced himself from the Biden administration on immigration and border security, criticizing his party for being "too slow to act on the border problem." According to WSKG, Riley has called for more border agents in some areas and a "surge in immigration judges."

"Number one, secure the damn border. Send the technology. Get it off the shelves. Go do your job. Pay for the technology to go to the border to detect the fentanyl. Pay for it. Get it done. Stop the fentanyl from coming in," Riley said during the candidates' Oct. 10 debate.

Molinaro, meanwhile, has tied Riley to Democrats’ border policies, blaming them for violent crimes like a rape in Albany and a murder in Rochester.

Molinaro has leaned heavily into the MAGA anti-migrant sentiment, pointing to New York City's migrant crisis in attack ads against his opponent.

"I voted for the strictest border security policy in generations, and [President Joe Biden] chose not to negotiate, not to engage, and instead turn his back," Molinaro argued during the Oct. 10 debate.

Economy 

Citing his family's experience with industrial decline and "greedy corporations," Riley has put fighting corruption and the economy at the forefront of his campaign. He promises to work on cutting taxes for the middle class and requiring "the wealthy and big corporations to pay their fair share."

Molinaro, meanwhile, said he'd fight inflation by "prioritizing productivity, encouraging innovation and investment, supporting families and empowering those with low income and EBT/SNAP."

Abortion

Riley has criticized Molinaro for repeatedly voting to make it more difficult to obtain an abortion and has suggested that Molinaro would vote for a national abortion ban, which he denies.

"The decision ... should be left to a woman and a physician, not Washington … I oppose a national ban, and I remain committed to opposing a national ban," Molinaro said.

"He’s lying to you," Riley retorted during the Oct. 10 debate.