Hudson Valley Congressional Races In National Spotlight

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Three out of four Congressional districts in the Hudson Valley have become national battlefields — and are among the most expensive in the country — as the Republicans try to keep control of the House of Representatives and Democrats try to take it back.

Republicans flipped four New York seats in 2022, including two in the Hudson Valley — one that had been vacated by Antonio Delgado when he became Lieutenant Governor, and one upset ousting party leader and five-term congressman Sean Patrick Maloney.

Now first-term Reps. Marc Molinaro (R,C-19) and Mike Lawler (R,C-17) are campaigning to keep those seats and protect the Republicans’ slim majority.

Molinaro is being challenged again by Democrat Josh Riley and Lawler's challenger is former incumbent Mondaire Jones (D). Also in District 17, a Rockland County resident named Anthony Frascone is running on the Working Families Party line.

First-term Rep. Pat Ryan (D,WF) in District 18 is vying against Alison Esposito (R,C).

All three districts are on the Cook Political Report's list of competitive races. CPR ranks District 18 as leaning Democrat, and District 17 and 19 as toss-ups with the Republicans slightly favored.

In the fourth Hudson Valley congressional district, District 16, the slugfest was in the Democratic primary, where current Westchester County Executive George Latimer defeated incumbent Jamaal Bowman. Latimer (D) faces Dr. Miriam Levitt Flisser (R) in the general election.

Politico said in February that the political action committee affiliated with House Republican leadership had already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to boost Molinaro's candidacy.

Meanwhile, Congressional Republicans have added Esposito to their "Young Guns" list of candidates for mentorship and other assistance, according to State of Politics.

As well as monetary support to their candidates in the 17th, 18th and 19th districts, the Dems have also opened field offices, according to State of Politics.

The three races are among the most expensive in the country, according to the Federal Election Commission. Latimer is ranked 24th among all 2,937 candidates, followed by Lawler at No. 37, Jones at No. 41, Riley at No. 48 and Molinaro at No. 84.

Far behind them are Esposito, ranked No. 363 and Flisser, ranked No. 1,512. The FEC has no financial data for Frascone.

Total raised January 2023 - June 2024, according to the latest FEC report:

• Latimer: $6,432,579.18
• Lawler: 5,736,579.61
• Jones: $5,540,543.21
• Ryan: $5,284,804.89
• Riley: $5,273,860.88
• Molinaro: $3,644,171.72
• Esposito: $1,306,819.84
• Flisser: $12,614

Election Day is Nov. 5. Early voters are provided with nine days to vote in person prior to Election Day. Early voting dates and hours of operation are provided by local county boards of elections.