Ulster Exec Ryan To Run For Congress In New 18th District

GARDINER, NY — Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan announced he will run for Congress to represent the newly created 18th Congressional District.

He made the announcement Monday on Twitter and said the new district represents the area where he was born and raised, where he graduated from West Point and where he currently lives.

"In the coming days, I will be announcing more about my campaign and the steps that we will take to ensure that we can hold this seat," Ryan said, "fight back against Washington extremism and restore trust and faith in our democracy."

He lives in Gardiner with his wife Rebecca and two sons.

All the new districts, which were announced Monday in preliminary form, still have to undergo public comment ending Wednesday and should be finalized by Friday.

As proposed, the new 18th Congressional District is comprised of Orange County, the southern half of Ulster County and most of Dutchess County, with the exception of the southeast portion.

State Assemblyman Colin Schmitt, R-New Windsor, announced his intention to run to represent the 18th Congressional District. He currently represents the 99th Assembly District, which is comprised of parts of Orange and Rockland counties.

Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro had previously announced his challenge to current 19th Congressional District Rep. Antonio Delgado, who will be resigning to become the state's next lieutenant governor.

Molinaro said on social media Monday that he still intends to run in the 19th district in spite of living in Dutchess County.

"These are all communities I've gotten to know well since my gubernatorial run in 2018," he said on Facebook. "I've spent countless hours and driven thousands of miles meeting old friends and making new friends in this proposed district. I'm running to represent the New York 19th Congressional District."

The proposed 19th Congressional District is comprised of the northern portion of Ulster County and all of Columbia, Greene, Sullivan and a handful of other counties to the west.

Patch reached out to Molinaro with questions about his residential status but did not immediately receive a response.