19th Congressional District race features county executives

HUDSON VALLEY — All registered voters in the 19th Congressional District will have the ability to cast their ballots in the Tuesday, Aug. 23, Special Election to elect the next U.S. representative to serve in the current 19th Congressional District (CD) for the next four months. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The race was necessitated by resignation of former U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado (D-NY-19), following his appointment of the lieutenant governorship. Delgado was chosen after Gov. Kathy Hochul saw her second in command arrested and indicted for bribery and fraud.

Delgado is the third to serve as lieutenant governor in less than a year. He replaced the disgraced former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin in May, who had stepped into the position after Hochul replaced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo following his resignation last summer.

The Special Election is required to finish Delgado’s unexpired term under the current district lines, which will change come 2023 as a result of the 2020 Census.

Two county executives are running for the seat: Republican Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro versus Democratic Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan. Making things more complicated, the Special Election coincides with the November General Election primaries for the newly redrawn Congressional districts.

The shift…

Following a low return rate in the 2020 Census, New York fell just 89 responses shy of maintaining its numbers and lost a seat in the House of Representatives. As a result, the state will have 26 rather than 27 representatives, despite its population having increased.

The shift forced a complicated redistricting process, which ultimately required a court-appointed special master to draw new district lines. A judge also had to order two separate primaries; one in June for statewide and Assembly elections, the second on Aug. 23, for State Senate and Congressional races.

CD 18 vs. CD 19

The party balance in New York’s congressional delegation currently has Democrats holding 18 seats while Republicans hold seven. The fragile balance of power in Washington is at risk of changing pending the outcome on Tueday and in November — always a concern for the two major parties.

There are two vacancies for New York in Congress: CD 19 (which includes all of Columbia, Delaware, Greene, Otsego, Schoharie, Sullivan and Ulster Counties and parts of Broome, Dutchess, Montgomery and Rensselaer Counties) and CD 23 (which covers upstate and the Southern Tier along the Pennsylvania border).

Come next year, the 19th CD will look vastly different; one dramatic change is it will no longer include any part of Dutchess County. Despite that, Molinaro will again run for the 19th CD come November, even though he will no longer reside in the district he represents if he wins — unless he moves.

Ryan will be switching districts and running for CD 18; he’s on the ballot for that race in the Democratic Primary on Aug. 23 — the same day as the Special Election.  Once redrawn, the 18th CD will include Ryan’s hometown of Gardiner.

That means the Ulster County Democrat will be on two separate ballots on Tuesday for two separate races. Ryan will be on the ballot with Molinaro in the Special Election for the current 19th CD and also on the ballot in the Democratic Primary Election for the 18th CD against Moses R. Mugulusi and Aisha Mills, to secure a spot in the November General Election. 

Snapshot of CD changes

Dutchess County voters in the Harlem Valley currently reside in the 19th CD; come 2023, they will reside in the 18th CD.

The current 19th CD includes parts or all of the following Dutchess County towns: Amenia, Beekman, Clinton, Dover, East Fishkill, Hyde Park, Lagrange, Milan, North East, Pawling, Pine Plains, Pleasant Valley,  Poughkeepsie, Red Hook, Rhinebeck, Stanford, Union Vale and Washington.

The new 18th Congressional District will include parts or all of the following Dutchess County towns: Amenia, Beekman, Clinton, Dover, Fishkill, Hyde Park, Lagrange, Milan, North East, Pine Plains, Pleasant Valley, Poughkeepsie, Red Hook, Rhinebeck, Stanford, Union Vale, Wappinger, Washington and the cities of Beacon and Poughkeepsie.

BOE contact info

For more information on the Special and Primary elections and to see a listing of local polling places, go to the Dutchess County Board of Elections (BOE) website at www.elections.dutchessny.gov or call the BOE at 845-486-2473.