A special election in New York on Tuesday will test the Democratic Party’s abortion campaign chief as they seek to counter Republican messages on the economy and inflation to hold a Democratic seat with the November election to only 11 weeks away. The seat in the Empire State’s 19th Congressional District, which covers New York’s Catskills and mid-Hudson Valley regions, includes Ulster County Executive Patrick Ryan, a Democrat who has campaigned on a promise to protect abortion access, and Republican Marc Molinaro, the Dutchess County executive who has focused on inflation, gas prices and crime. Both Ryan and Molinaro are seeking to fill the seat previously held by Antonio Delgado, the Democrat who resigned to become New York’s lieutenant governor this summer. The remainder of Delgado’s term expires in 2023. New York braces for big primary that will see at least 1 DEM HOUSE LEADER OUT OF JOB Democrat Pat Ryan and Republican Mark Molinaro will face off Tuesday in a special election to represent New York’s 19th Congressional District. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) In the final week of the campaign to represent the 19th District, which then-presidential candidate Joe Biden carried by less than 2 points in the 2020 election, Ryan, an Army veteran, said during a campaign rally in Woodstock that he hopes to “sends another message as the national spotlight begins to shift” to Democrats. “Think about the message that was sent in Kansas, think about the message that we can send here,” he said, referring to a voter decision in the Midwestern state last month that prevented elected representatives from regulating abortion in Kansas. “How can we be a free country if the government is trying to control women’s bodies?” Ryan asked in his first ad. “This is not the country I fought to defend.” In a campaign organized by Molinaro, however, the debate remained focused on issues such as crime and the economy. “This is a special election. This is about the voters of the 19th Congressional District. And it’s both disingenuous and a little insulting to tell them what their issues are,” he said. “They fear for the future and worry about their safety. I hear it everywhere.” “Under one-party rule, our communities face runaway inflation, a government-fueled crime wave and massive tax increases,” Molinaro said in a recent social media post. “I will challenge Congress to be the voice desperately needed in DC to fight this insanity.” Molinaro, once the youngest mayor in America when he was elected to represent Tivoli as a teenager, has name recognition in the race after running an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2018. The Republican garnered just over 2, 2 million votes compared to Cuomo’s 3.63 million in the state. NADLER, AT INTRODUCTORY DEBATE, ASKS FOR MORE FEDERAL FUNDING FOR NYPD. PREVIOUS SUPPORT FOR POLICE DEFUNDING REFUSED Marc Molinaro and Pat Ryan chat before the start of a candidate forum at Roscoe Beer Co. in Roscoe, New York, on Thursday, August 18, 2022. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) Delgado narrowly beat his Republican challenger, an incumbent, in the 2018 election for the seat and won by a wide margin when he sought re-election in 2020. Although Biden won the district, former President Donald Trump won it in his presidential bid 2016. Because of the redistricting, in addition to Tuesday’s special election to fill out the remainder of Delgado’s term, both Molinaro and Ryan are also on the first ballot for the general election Ryan is looking to win a full term representing the state’s new 18th District, a seat vacated by Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, DN.Y., who is now seeking to represent the state’s 17th District in the House. Should he advance to the general election, Ryan will face Colin Schmidt, the Republican and Conservative Party candidate who ran unopposed in the primary. Molinaro is running unopposed in the Republican primary for a full term to represent the state’s new 19th District. While his challenger in the November election has yet to be decided, the two Democratic candidates seeking to represent the district are attorney Josh Reilly and business owner Jamie Cheney. The dome of the U.S. Capitol is illuminated by the morning sun, March 14, 2022. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc) CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Originally scheduled to be held on June 28, a federal judge moved the date of the congressional and Senate primaries to August 23 due to the drawing of congressional districts. The only elections held in June were for governorship and state assembly seats. The Associated Press contributed to this article. Kyle Morris covers politics for Fox News. On Twitter: @RealKyleMorris.
