After redistricting, two Democrats are running in a newly drawn 19th Congressional District in New York. A third candidate dropped out this week.
The new 19th district stretches from the Finger Lakes to the Southern Tier, from parts of the lower Hudson Valley to Greene and Columbia County. Antonio Delgado left the existing seat when he was tapped for lieutenant governor by Governor Kathy Hochul.
Endicott native Josh Riley is an attorney who got his start in public service as a staff assistant in Congressman Maurice Hinchey’s office.
"I saw while I was working in Congress both the worst of Washington dysfunction, but also the very best of what we can accomplish if we roll up our sleeves and work together," Riley said. "You know, our politics today are so divided by people who are on the extremes, just trying to yell the loudest and get the most, you know, clicks and followers on social media. And my approach to this job will be the same as what it was when I worked as counsel in the Senate, which is to try to bring Democrats and Republicans together to find common ground on the issues that matter."
Riley says while on the campaign trail he is hearing that people want change.
"I'm running for Congress because our politics are so divided and so broken," said Riley. "I have a 20-month-old son and I have real concerns about the kind of democracy that he's going to grow up in. And that's why I'm stepping forward to do this right now. I think, look, most people I talk to care less about left, right, conservative, liberal, Democrat, Republican. What most folks are concerned about is their own economic situation, creating new jobs across the region."
Jamie Cheney runs a small business and a cattle farm in Rhinebeck. She cut her political teeth over the past five years volunteering and knocking on doors for local candidates across the Hudson Valley.
"I made a decision to run myself in early 2021, because I felt that my state senator at the time really didn't reflect the values of my community," said Cheney. "And then when the lines were redrawn, and I saw the new 19th, and saw a very large community in the new 19th that truly needs a strong advocate, and an advocate who understands what life is like, not in the urban centers of our country, but in our more rural areas, and are much smaller cities, I made a decision to run for the seat."
That decision was boosted by the skyrocketing cost of living, scarcity of jobs and challenges small businesses face.
"The primary issues facing this district are the issues that most directly affect people every day," Cheney said. "And right now, that means the issues that are affecting people's wallets. So this is everything from the availability and cost of housing, the cost of gas, as we all well know, and then a series of other costs and lack of supports that are really affecting our community. So specifically, I'm thinking and I've heard a lot as I've traveled the new 19th, about things like a requirement for flood insurance in a certain area that's flooded two or three times in the last 20 years, that is much more than a family can afford."
Democrats chose Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan to run in the special election to finish Delgado's term. He is also running in the new 18th district for the next term.
OutHudson director Osun Zotique set out to become the first openly trans, nonbinary individual elected to a federal office, but dropped out this week rather than possibly face Republican Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro in November. Molinaro is running both in the special election for the old 19th against Ryan and for the new 19th. Both the special election and the Congressional primary election are August 23rd.
