WSKG reporters are interviewing candidates in some of the biggest races in our area heading into the November election. This week, we profile the candidates running for New York’s 19th Congressional District. The district stretches from Tompkins County to the Hudson Valley, and includes the cities of Binghamton, Oneonta, and Ithaca.
New York’s 19th Congressional District is one of the most expensive and competitive races in the country. The Republican incumbent, Congressman Marc Molinaro, is seeking a second term. His Democratic challenger is Josh Riley. The two faced off for the congressional seat back in 2022, and it was close. Molinaro won by less than 2 percentage points.
In an interview with WSKG, Riley discussed what is different about the race this time around, and where he stands on the issues in this election. We will hear from Molinaro on Friday.
Josh Riley said his family’s background is a pretty universal one in upstate New York. His family came to Broome County just after the turn of the century, for work at the Endicott-Johnson Shoe Company. Later, his family members also worked for IBM, like many in the area.
Riley grew up on Birdsall Street in Endicott, in a house built for Endicott-Johnson workers. He said watching businesses shutter and jobs leave the area is what inspired him to go into law.
“Growing up in Endicott as a fifth generation upstate New Yorker, seeing our community sold out and looked down on by the political establishment and the special interests, I didn't know any lawyers when I was growing up, but as I saw what was happening in the community around me, I knew that becoming a lawyer would be a way to make a difference for folks,” Riley said.
Riley has worked as a private practice lawyer, 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 on the Senate Judiciary Committee. In 2014, he returned to private practice legal work at a firm in Washington, D.C.
If you have seen campaign ads from either candidate in this race, you probably already know it is a pretty contentious election.
A combined $35.5 million has poured into ads and digital spots for both candidates so far, and the outcome of the race could determine whether House Republicans keep their majority.
But Riley argues national politics does not have much of an impact on this race.
“I don't know whether my neighbors on Birdsall Street are Democrats or Republicans," Riley said. "I know they're all voting for me, but beyond that, I don't know their politics. One of them said at one point, 'Look Josh, you know how it is around here. We're not really for the Democrats or for the Republicans. We're just sort of angry at all of them.’ And I think that sentiment is actually more correct than what you're going to hear from any beltway pundit, or anybody in the political establishment.”
Riley is a Democrat, but comes from a Republican family. He presents himself as a political outsider, an option for voters frustrated by both parties.
Riley supports Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race. But like several Democratic candidates running in highly competitive races in upstate New York, Riley has distanced himself from President Joe Biden and Harris on immigration. He said he feels the administration acted too late on border security.
“We should have thousands of additional agents at the southwest border. I believe there are some places along the southwest border where it makes sense to have physical barriers to secure the border,” Riley said. “I think we need a surge in immigration judges right now. Folks who are coming to America and seeking asylum, for example, have to wait sometimes over four years to have that paperwork processed.”
Riley also said he feels the farmworker visa program needs updating, and the federal government should be employing technological tools to detect the smuggling of fentanyl and other illegal drugs at ports of entry.
He said if elected, he would support updated term limits, focus on addressing the overdose epidemic, and work to overturn Citizens United, a landmark Supreme Court decision that changed campaign finance laws.
Among the other top issues this election season is abortion. Riley said he would co-sponsor a bill to codify abortion access nationwide. He added he does not feel there should be any legislative limits on abortion.
“The overwhelming majority of the voters that I talk with, whether they're Democrats or Republicans, whether they live in our more urban places like the Triple Cities, or in our more rural communities in the Catskills, they believe that this is an issue about freedom,” Riley said. “And it's an issue about women being able to have control over some of the most difficult and painful and private moments of their own lives, and that the government has no business being in that.”
Riley has consistently outraised Molinaro. According to the Federal Election Commission, his campaign has raised a total of over $7 million in contributions, compared to Molinaro’s nearly $5 million. As of the end of September, Riley’s campaign had about $700,000 more than Molinaro’s in cash on hand.
But Riley also outraised Molinaro in 2022, when he lost. Most experts agree running against an incumbent can be challenging. Riley argues this time around, his opponent has a voting record he can criticize. He often attacks Molinaro’s decades-long political career. Molinaro has served on New York’s state Assembly, as the county executive of Dutchess County, and even as mayor of the village of Tivoli.
“I think it's fair for voters to ask themselves, are they any better under his 30 years, or is it just more of the same?” Riley said. “I'm running as a new voice, new leadership, and I'm pushing for term limits because I think we need more new voices and new leadership in our politics.”
Polling released in September by the nonprofit organization US Term Limits has Riley ahead of Molinaro by 3 percentage points. Polling from the news outlet WNYT in Albany released this month also has Riley ahead, by 4 points.
The district has about 175,000 active Democrats and just under 160,000 active Republicans. About 130,000 voters are independents.
Early voting starts Saturday. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5.
