For his entrance at Rhinebeck’s Kesicke Farm, Marc Molinaro walked out of a cornfield to greet about 150 friends and family before announcing his run for Congress in 2022.

The Dutchess County executive started and ended his comments Tuesday thanking his wife, Corinne, and his four children.

“My wife had lent me to the community both at times willingly, and — I’ll admit at when even she believes they might not have much choice,” Molinaro joked.

Molinaro, 45, filed paperwork to run for the 19th Congressional District seat a few days prior to the official campaign launch.

Molinaro, a Republican, is challenging second-term incumbent Democrat Antonio Delgado in a highly anticipated political battle.

Molinaro’s political career began straight out of high school. He became mayor of the village of Tivoli at age 19. Later, he served in the Dutchess County Legislature, New York State Assembly, and county executive, a post he has held since 2011.

Molinaro ran for New York governor in 2018. On Tuesday, he said he wants to represent the Hudson Valley in Washington to address dysfunctional government.

“I didn’t think that one out of 435 ultimately would be the place where I could make the biggest change,” Molinaro said to the crowd. “But I can tell you what I believe now is that America is at a crossroads. Common sense, competence and compassion have been lost from decision-making.”

As a campaigner, Molinaro will have a lot of ground to cover.

The district includes seven counties and parts of four other counties, though the redistricting process may change the borders of the district before the November 2022 election.