Hello and welcome to the Hudson Valley News Alliance’s Election Project 2022.
The Hudson Valley News Alliance is a coalition of local news organizations up and down the Hudson Valley — our members cover communities in Dutchess, Ulster, Greene, Orange, Putnam and Sullivan counties. Our goal is to pool resources and perspectives to give readers across the region better and broader coverage of what’s important to life where they live.
We hope to create an easily accessible and easy-to-use resource for voters in the 17th, 18th and 19th Congressional Districts with solid, non-partisan information on who the candidates are and where they stand on the major topics of the midterm elections: inflation and the economy, reproductive freedom, gun control, election integrity and others. We’ll have that finalized as the election draws closer. First, we’re going to bring everyone up to speed on the basics: who’ll be on the ballot, and how a chaotic redistricting process and an unexpected resignation in Albany made this an election cycle like no other in Hudson Valley history. We’ll also have a series of blog-like posts as these races, any one of which might determine which party controls the House of Representatives next year, twist and turn toward the first Tuesday in November.
Thanks for reading and we hope you’ll join us for the long haul. We welcome feedback and tips! Send them to info@hvnews.org.
Voter Guide – Congressional District #17
Where It Is: New York’s 17th Congressional District consists of the entirety of Putnam and Rockland counties; the Dutchess County towns of Beekman (partial), East Fishkill and Pawling (partial) and the Village of Pawling; and the Westchester County City of Peekskill, the towns of Bedford, Cortlandt, Lewisboro, Mount Pleasant, New Castle, North Castle, North Salem, Ossining, Pound Ridge, Somers and Yorktown, the villages of Briarcliff Manor, Buchanan, Croton-on-Hudson, Mount Kisco, Ossining, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown.
Who’s Running: U.S. Rep. Sean Maloney (Democratic/Working Families Party) and Assemblyman Michael Lawler (Republican/Conservative).
Who Are They: Maloney, 56, a Cold Spring resident, was elected to Congress in 2012. A former aide to President Bill Clinton, he also ran a tech startup and served as a senior staffer for two New York governors. He came in third in 2018’s Democratic primary for attorney general. Lawler, 36, a Pearl River resident, was elected to represent the state’s 97th Assembly District in 2020. He served as Orangetown deputy town supervisor and was an advisor to former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino.
How They Got Here: Maloney won the Aug. 23 Democratic Party primary, defeating state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi. Lawler defeated four other candidates in the Republican Party primary.
Election Day polls will be open Tuesday, Aug. 23, from 6 am to 9 pm.
Additional Information:
- Find your polling site here.
- Read the NY Times story on the 17th Congressional District.
- Ballotpedia has campaign finance information and more.
- Candidate information can be found at vote411.org.
Voter Guide – Congressional District #18
Where It Is: New York’s 18th Congressional District is comprised of the entirety of Orange County; the Dutchess County cities of Beacon and Poughkeepsie, the towns of Amenia, Beekman (partial), Clinton, Dover, Fishkill, Hyde Park, LaGrange, Milan, Northeast, Pawling (partial), Pine Plains, Pleasant Valley, Poughkeepsie, Red Hook, Rhinebeck, Stanford, Union Vale, Wappinger and Washington, and the villages of Fishkill, Millbrook, Millerton, Red Hook, Rhinebeck, Tivoli and Wappingers Falls; and the Ulster County city of Kingston, the towns of Esopus, Gardiner, Lloyd, Marbletown, Marlborough, New Paltz, Plattekill, Rochester, Rosendale, Shawangunk and Wawarsing (partial), and the villages of Ellenville and New Paltz.
Who’s Running: U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan (Democratic/Working Families) and Assemblyman Colin Schmitt (Republican/Conservative).
Who Are They: Ryan, 40, a Gardiner resident, was elected to Congress in an Aug. 23 special election to fill the unexpired term of now-Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado. A runner-up to Delgado in a 2018 Democratic primary, Ryan won both a special election and a general election to become Ulster County executive in 2019. Ryan graduated from West Point and served in the Army, including two tours in Iraq. Before entering politics, he worked in the tech sector, founding his own company. Schmitt, 32, a New Windsor resident, was elected to the state Assembly from the 99th District in 2018. A former staffer for two state legislators and the Town of New Windsor supervisor, Schmitt is a sergeant in the New York Army National Guard.
How They Got Here: Ryan won the Aug. 23 Democratic primary, defeating Aisha Mills and Moses Mugulusi. Schmitt was unopposed for the Republican nomination.
Election Day polls will be open Tuesday, Aug. 23, from 6 am to 9 pm.
Additional Information:
- Find your polling site here.
- Ballotpedia has campaign finance information and more.
- Candidate information can be found at vote411.org.
Voter Guide – Congressional District #19
What It Is: New York’s 19th Congressional District consists of the Ulster County towns of Denning, Hardenburgh, Hurley, Kingston, Shandaken, Saugerties, Shandaken, Ulster and Woodstock and the Village of Saugerties; the entirety of Columbia, Greene and Sullivan counties as well as all of Broome, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Tioga and Tompkins counties, and the Otsego County city of Oneonta and the towns of Butternuts, Hartwick, Laurens, Milford, Morris, New Lisbon, Oneonta, Otego and Unadilla.
Who’s Running: Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro (Republican/Conservative) and Josh Riley (Democratic/Working Families).
Who Are They: Molinaro, 46, a Red Hook resident, has literally spent his entire adult life in public office, beginning with service on Tivoli’s village board and then, at age 19, as mayor. He has also served in the Dutchess County Legislature and the state Assembly. He was elected Dutchess County executive in 2011. In 2018, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for governor on the GOP line. Riley, 41, an Ithaca resident, graduated from Harvard Law School and worked as a staffer for former Congressman Maurice Hinchey. He also worked as policy analyst for the U.S. Department of Labor and as ex-U.S. Sen. Al Franken’s Senate Judiciary Committee general counsel.
How Did They Get Here: Molinaro was unopposed in his bid for the Republican line. Riley defeated Jamie Cheney in the Aug. 23 Democratic primary.
Election Day polls will be open Tuesday, Aug. 23, from 6 am to 9 pm.
Additional Information:
- Find your polling site here.
- Ballotpedia has campaign finance information and more.
- Candidate information can be found at vote411.org.
Notable Dates In New York
Absentee Ballot Deadlines
Request Ballot (received by): October 24
Return Ballot (postmarked by): November 8
Return Ballot In Person: November 8 by 9PM
Registration Deadlines
By Mail (postmarked by): October 14
In-person At Local Election Office: October 14
Online: October 14
Voting Deadlines
Early Voting: October 29-November 6
In-person At Your Polling Place: November 8
Voting Information
Participating Publications
- Hudsy
- HV Pilot
- Kingston Wire
- Peekskill Herald
- Red Hook Daily Catch
- Shawangunk Journal
- The Highlands Current
- Times Union
Election Coverage
10/3/22 – Senior Kingston Wire editor Dan Barton will be writing about these races in the weeks to come. Check back here for updates on the race.
Election Coverage
Dan’s Blog