A New York Republican county executive is eyeing a 2022 challenge to Democratic Rep. Antonio Delgado in a sprawling district that has toggled between the parties over the past 15 years.
Marc Molinaro, executive of Dutchess County and president of the New York State County Executives Association, told the Washington Examiner Thursday that he will “soon” declare whether he will enter the race.
One New York Republican Party insider told the Washington Examiner that Molinaro is serious about running against Delgado, as he is already calling up donors about potential support for a congressional bid.
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The focus on New York’s 19th Congressional District comes following Molinaro’s declaration that he is not running for governor and is throwing his support, instead, behind Rep. Lee Zeldin.
The district is in the eastern part of the state and includes Columbia, Delaware, Greene, Otsego, Schoharie, Sullivan, and Ulster counties and regions of Broome, Dutchess, Montgomery, and Rensselaer counties.
Delgado won the seat in 2018 during the Democrats’ “blue wave” election, defeating freshman Republican Rep. John Faso. Prior to that cycle, the district, since the 2006 election cycle, had been represented by three different Republicans and one Democrat.
The New York Democrat won his 2020 reelection after raising $5.6 million by Oct. 14 of that year, to his GOP opponent’s $130,000, and beating him with 54% of the vote.
If Molinaro jumps into the race, he will have some catching up to do on the fundraising front. Delgado has banked $4.4 million for the 2022 cycle, raising $1.1 million in the last quarter.
However, unlike Delgado’s last opponent, Molinaro would likely be a stronger candidate politically and financially. His political experience and network go back to the mid-1990s.
Prior to his job as a county executive, he was a member of the New York State Assembly and attempted a 2018 gubernatorial run against Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
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He was first elected to public office at the age of 18 in 1994, serving on the Village of Tivoli Board of Trustees. One year later, he became the youngest mayor in the United States, winning reelection five times and being elected four times to the Dutchess County Legislature.
