A brewing rematch in a congressional district that could determine which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives is quickly turning bitter and personal.
In New York’s expansive 19th Congressional District, which stretches from Tompkins County in the west to Rensselaer County in the east, Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro is trying for a repeat of 2022, when he beat Democrat Josh Riley.
In recent interviews, Molinaro labeled Riley a “fraud,” while Riley said Molinaro is “really good at pointing fingers” and “really bad at solving problems.”
Molinaro, the incumbent, touts his decades living in upstate New York and endorsements from various trade unions, while casting Riley as an out-of-touch Washington insider. He points to Riley’s time spent outside of the district working as a clerk for a federal judge and an aide on Capitol Hill before entering private practice.
“The people I represent know what it's like to be ignored. They know what it's like to be abandoned … Hell, they even saw my opponent leave 20 years ago,” Molinaro said of Riley.
Riley, in response, says he is a fifth generation native of Broome County.
Riley labels his opponent a career politician, noting the decades that Molinaro has spent in public office, including previously serving as a state assemblyman and county executive.
He also takes issue with a comment Molinaro made about voters during the chaos last fall when Republicans ousted Kevin McCarthy as speaker and struggled to pick his replacement. At the time, Molinaro said, “They don’t give a s**t who the speaker of the House is. They care if we are functioning and delivering for them.”
Riley, of that comment, said, “For him to look down on us and be that condescending to us, is something that we're just not going to tolerate. We've been looked down and overlooked and sold out by career politicians around here for way too long.”
Molinaro said he was expressing the frustration of his constituents.
On policy, both candidates are critical of President Joe Biden’s handling of immigration.
“He’s done a terrible job on the border. And so have all of the politicians, frankly,” Riley said.
“This president has abandoned the southern border. He has surrendered it to drug cartels,” Molinaro said.
Riley touts his work on bipartisan immigration legislation as a Senate aide back in 2013, and he takes issue with Molinaro and House Republicans not supporting another bipartisan proposal recently crafted in the U.S. Senate.
“They would rather exploit the problem for political gain than actually solve it,” he said.
Molinaro argues that the Senate proposal was “insufficient” compared to a border bill passed by House Republicans. He instead accuses Riley of “hypocrisy,” pointing to his work on the 2013 bill (which never became law), saying it would have amounted to “mass amnesty” for millions.
That is a claim that Riley’s team rejects, saying the bill called for enhanced border security, including hiring additional border agents, in exchange for making the system “fair for those who pay taxes and follow the rules.”
Then there is the fallout from the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Molinaro said he has bucked his own party, advocating for access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and the abortion drug mifepristone.
“I am leading the effort as a Republican, standing basically alone among … others, to ensure that there's access to IVF,” he said. “These are really difficult choices that women have to make, and I respect that we need to be sure that we’re giving them the support and resources they need.”
Riley said that is the least Molinaro could do, invoking Molinaro’s comments that he will back the GOP nominee for president this year.
“The only reason access to IVF and mifepristone are in jeopardy is because Marc Molinaro’s choice for president - Donald Trump - had Roe v. Wade get overturned,” he said. “You don't get to light the house on fire and then try to take credit for dumping a couple of buckets of water on it.”
The newly redrawn 19th Congressional District is only a hair less Biden-friendly than the previous map used in 2022. Molinaro won under that map by just under 5,000 votes.
