Republican Marc Molinaro apparently beat Democrat Josh Riley late Tuesday night in the race to represent New York’s 19th Congressional District, which encompasses Cortland County and stretches from Tompkins County west to the Massachusetts border, according to unofficial tallies.
Molinaro, the current Dutchess County executive, defeated Riley, an Ithaca-based lawyer and former federal Senate attorney, winning 50.25% of the vote with 638 of 642 electoral districts reporting.
The unofficial tally was 141,603 to 135,783. In Cortland County, the tally, with 47 of 51 districts reporting was 7,342 to 6,130 in Molinaro’s favor. In Tompkins County, Riley took 24,553 votes to Molinaro’s 8,942.
"Tonight, the voters of upstate sent a message that they demand a government that works for them. They just want to feed their families, heat their homes, and feel safe in their communities," Molinaro said in a statement. "I'm honored to have earned the trust of more than 100,000 voters, and I will work every day to be a worthy member of Congress for both those who did, and did not vote for me."
The Riley campaign declined to comment, but planned to issue a statement today.
Molinaro hopes to address inadequate childcare in the district by tackling so-called benefits cliffs for programs like Head Start, expanding their availability and accordingly access to resources.
Riley wanted to provide greater incentives for the development of childcare workers, boosting wages and benefits and giving childcare workers a greater chance at being part of the middle class. He also advocated for tax cuts to working families and expansion of paid family leave.
Riley said he would work to ensure funds from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act reached his district to drive broadband expansion.
Molinaro wants to simplify the way broadband expansion projects are funded and explore internet options outside of traditional broadband, like satellite and radio. He also said he wants to challenge broadband provider monopolies in the state.
Molinaro believes the federal government wrongfully prioritizes propping up big corporations; he said he will pursue permitting and regulatory reforms to help small businesses.
Riley said he was excited by high-tech opportunities available to the district, like solar panels and chip fabrication.
Molinaro campaigned on expanding his county’s community-based substance treatment model nationwide; he wants insurance, Medicaid and Medicare to subsidize the expansion of mental health services throughout the nation.
Riley said he wanted to provide additional funding to law enforcement to address opioid abuse, citing his previous efforts to provide crisis-intervention training to law enforcement.
