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NY Democrat Josh Riley narrowly defeats incumbent Marcus Molinaro

Harry November 6, 2024

Josh Riley unseated U.S. Rep. Marcus Molinaro in a narrow win for Democrats in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives in New York.

With 97 percent of the votes have been counted As of Wednesday morning around 2:30, Riley had won 50.5% of the vote in the 19th Congressional District race, with the Republican incumbent close behind at 49.5%. Associated Press it’s called racing In favor of Riley.

In their first meeting two years ago, Molinaro prevailed with 51.1% of the vote in the November 2022 redrawn district that includes Ithaca and the Finger Lakes.

Both parties spent large amounts of money on political attack ads. During a heated televised debate in early October, they repeatedly talked over each other and exceeded time limits, while each challenged the other’s credibility.

While Riley accused Molinaro of “literally making things up,” Molinaro responded by saying Riley was “lying again.”

Throughout the campaign, Molinaro touched on issues that Republicans have talked about, such as border security. He used the debate to highlight crimes he claimed were being committed by people living illegally in New York and blamed the Biden administration for failing to agree on a Republican measure to increase enforcement on the nation’s southern border.

Riley accused Republicans of not supporting a bipartisan solution. “He (Molinaro) is more interested in an issue to campaign on than solving the issue,” Riley said.

On abortion, former Dutchess County Executive Molinaro, who ran for governor against Andrew Cuomo in 2018, said he would oppose a national ban. “I want this decision to be between you and a doctor, not in Washington, D.C.,” Molinaro said, looking directly at the camera during the debate.

“He’s lying to you, he’s lying to you,” Riley responded.