“Since he was 18 years old, Marc Molinaro has built his career off of being a Republican Party loyalist. In Congress, Molinaro has continued to do the bidding of his party by caving to far-right members to restrict women’s reproductive freedom and cozy up to special interests – all at the expense of Upstate New York families. Meanwhile, Josh Riley is a different kind of Democrat who will stand up to anyone to get things done. The combination of Josh’s optimistic vision for Upstate New York, strong fundraising, local and national support, and Broome County roots is exactly why we’ll flip this critical seat,” said DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene.
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To: Interested Parties From: Ellie Dougherty, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: June 25, 2024
Subject: The Case Against Marc Molinaro
New York’s 19th Congressional District is shaping up to be one of the most competitive races in the country, and Marc Molinaro’s increasing vulnerability has put this traditional swing seat even more in play post-redistricting. In Congress, Molinaro has routinely taken votes that are misaligned with Upstate New Yorkers’ priorities and proven his ultimate loyalty is to Republican Party party bosses, including suggesting he would vote for a federal abortion ban, padding the pockets of special interests, and protecting Big Oil, Big Pharma, and utility companies.
A career politician first elected at age 18, Molinaro has repeatedly sold out to his extreme Republican Party and used positions of power to raise taxes in every local office he’s held, peddled millions of dollars in government contracts to his campaign donors, and even made taxpayers pay thousands of dollars for his luxury vehicle – a corrupt move that a truly bizarre Mary Poppins-themed burner most likely directly linked to Marc Molinaro himself ardently defended.
The same cannot be said for the service driven Josh Riley. Josh was born and raised in Endicott, where his mom worked in law enforcement and five generations of his family worked in manufacturing. As an attorney and public servant, Josh advocated for children who needed health care, protected the right to vote, brought together Democrats and Republicans to fight the opioid epidemic, and held companies accountable for exploiting workers, servicemembers, and seniors. Now, Josh is fighting to build a better future for Upstate New York families – including for his own two boys.
As Upstate New Yorkers face rising costs and attacks on their fundamental freedoms, voters are fed up with politicians who are only looking out for themselves. This race is a clear choice between Josh Riley, who is laser-focused on standing up to corrupt special interests to renew the American Dream for middle-class New Yorkers, and Marc Molinaro, who has repeatedly proven he’s a party shill standing in the way of lowering costs while working to dismantle women’s access to reproductive care.
RIPPING AWAY UPSTATE WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Over the past 30 years that he’s held public office, Marc Molinaro has built an extreme record strategically aimed to rip away a woman’s right to reproductive freedom and health care – including suggesting he would vote for a federal abortion ban.
In the New York Assembly, Molinaro voted to prohibit Medicaid funds to be used for abortions. As a Republican gubernatorial candidate, Molinaro opposed critical legislation like the Reproductive Health Act, a landmark abortion rights bill in New York that codified Roe v. Wade. And over the course of his long career as a corrupt politician, Molinaro has built ties to anti-choice groups – leading him to transfer more than $2,050 from his campaigns to an anti-choice group that operated crisis pregnancy centers.
During his campaign for Congress in 2022, Molinaro continued to double down on his anti-choice extremism by aligning himself with far-right members of the Republican Party and was caught in audio that only recently came to light supporting an abortion ban – mirroring a similar ban proposed by anti-choice extremist and Molinaro-endorsed Donald Trump.
Considering Molinaro’s well-documented anti-abortion record before he even got to Congress, it’s no surprise he’s repeatedly followed Republican party bosses’ orders by paving the way for a national abortion ban as a congressman.
For example, as one of his first votes in Washington, Molinaro voted for a bill that could punish doctors who provide abortion care with jail time. He also voted for an extreme amendment to the defense bill, which would restrict reproductive health care nationally for service members and their families. Lastly, he voted to fund anti-choice efforts to misinform women about their reproductive health options on college campuses and through funding so-called “crisis pregnancy centers” in addition to blocking the Women’s Health Protection Act.
Josh Riley will always fight to make sure women’s health care decisions are women’s health care decisions, not politicians. And Josh will follow through – after the disastrous overturning of Roe v. Wade, he put together a detailed plan to protect women’s access to abortion care and stand up for women’s rights.
A PAY-TO-PLAY CORPORATE SHILL RAISING COSTS FOR UPSTATE FAMILIES
Marc Molinaro has been a politician since he was just 18. As mayor of Tivoli, a Dutchess County legislator, a New York assemblyman, and a Dutchess County executive, Molinaro has lived on taxpayers’ dime as a politician every year of his adult life.
In Congress, Molinaro’s decades never having a job outside of politics has turned him into a typical pay-to-play politician – including taking hundreds of thousands in campaign contributions from corporate special interests, including PACs for Big Oil, Big Pharma, and utility companies that are profiting off of raising costs burdening Upstate New York families. Molinaro then voted to protect oil and gas price gougers and opposed a bill that would let Medicare recipients negotiate lower drug prices.
But cozying up to special interests isn’t the only way Molinaro has hurt New York’s 19th Congressional District. He also voted to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy incentives that are bringing good-paying jobs to the district – which Molinaro himself even admitted is attracting in-district economic growth. Finally, Molinaro supported Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 despite the bill’s incentivization for outsourcing jobs outside the U.S.
Molinaro’s record as a corporate shill is clear and stands in stark contrast to Josh Riley, who has never taken a dime of corporate PAC money and relies on grassroots support instead. He’ll fight like hell to take on corporate special interests in Congress and lower costs for Upstate families.
A STAUNCH SUPPORTER OF HIS EXTREME REPUBLICAN PARTY
Marc Molinaro’s record is full of examples of specific members of Congress he’s caved to – including Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is a known conspiracy theorist and Donald Trump loyalist. Whether it’s propping up a dangerous agenda to cut law enforcement funding, play politics with our border, or raise prescription drug costs, Molinaro votes with Greene an overwhelming majority of the time and against Upstate New Yorkers’ interests.
When it comes to Donald Trump, Molinaro has also propped up the extreme leader of the MAGA movement, specifically as Trump pushes an agenda to ban abortion nationwide and cut critical programs like Social Security and Medicare. Perhaps even more damning, Molinaro endorsed Trump and has repeatedly rushed to abandon the rule of law and defend the former president after he was convicted of a felony.
And of course, Molinaro was the first vulnerable New York Republican to support extremist Speaker Mike Johnson in his path to the speakership – reportedly playing a “pivotal role” in elevating Johnson to power. Johnson, who is leading the GOP’s anti-choice crusade, has co-sponsored a national abortion ban with no exceptions for rape, incest, or to save a woman’s life that would also in practice prohibit IVF and common forms of birth control, and has pushed for 10 years of hard labor from doctors for providing abortion care.
While Molinaro has repeatedly proven his staunch support for the most extreme Members of the Republican Party time and again, Josh Riley is a different kind of Democrat who is willing to stand up to anyone, including his own party, if it means getting things done for Upstate New York families – which is exactly what he’ll do in Congress.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
American Journal News: Unearthed audio reveals Republican Marc Molinaro’s anti-abortion views [American Journal News, 03/19/24]
The Daily Freeman: Molinaro backs staunch conservative Rep. Johnson for speaker; Ryan calls Louisiana lawmaker an ‘extremist’ [The Daily Freeman, 10/25/23]
Tompkins Weekly: What Voters Know about Marc Molinaro [Tompkins Weekly, 03/06/24]
“In Upstate New York, we saw jobs sent overseas, communities hollowed out, poverty rates increased, opioid deaths spike. And instead of standing up for working folks, career politicians pocketed corporate cash and looked the other way or, even worse, helped the special interests profit at our expense.
“And it’s not just that we’ve been sold out; we’ve been looked down on, too. Just look at what 30-year career politician Marc Molinaro told reporters about us around the time he voted to make Mike Johnson—an anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ+ extremist—Speaker of the House.”
City & State: Marc Molinaro’s first-quarter fundraising dwarfed by Democratic challenger’s [City & State, 04/15/24]
“Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro raked in roughly $537,000 in donations for the first quarter of 2024 – less than half the $1.4 million raised by his Democratic opponent, Josh Riley.
“Seven months out from what’s shaping up to be a potentially consequential race for both parties, Molinaro’s fundraising total for the 19th Congressional District seat has been quickly surpassed by his challenger’s sizable haul. According to the latest filings, Riley reports raising a total of $3.4 million this cycle with $2.5 million cash on hand.”
The Daily Beast: Is This GOP Rep Linked to a Mary Poppins Themed Burner Account? [The Daily Beast, 03/21/24]
“Like many politicians, Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY) has some very passionate, very anonymous defenders on social media.
“But Molinaro is probably the only politician whose biggest anonymous online attack dog speaks in the voice of Mary Poppins…
“Still, the Poppins account seemed intimately familiar with specific details in press coverage of Molinaro. When the Dutchess County comptroller’s office reviewed Molinaro’s official car usage in a county-wide audit, it posted that Molinaro drives ‘a leased Tahoe valued at $79k’ and that ‘some in his position have a driver and security.’’
PATH TO VICTORY
In 2022, Josh Riley came within 1.6 points of defeating Marc Molinaro after a long redistricting process. With redistricting finalized in 2024, New York’s 19th Congressional District is once again solidified as a true swing district with a Democratic edge. Biden won the district in 2020 by 4.6 points in the major-party vote – and this cycle, National Journal lists Molinaro as one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the country while Cook Political Report rates the race a “toss-up.”
Josh is already off to the races and is building up a strong campaign to defeat Marc Molinaro. Thanks to Josh’s fundraising prowess, he’ll have the resources needed to communicate to Democratic, Independent, and Republican voters alike across the district’s five media markets – having raised over $4 million since launching his campaign and outraising Molinaro now four quarters in a row.
Josh’s deep ties to the district and record of standing up to either parties to get things done sets him apart from a Republican Party loyalist and corporate shill like Marc Molinaro. Upstate New York voters are fed up with politicians selling them out and working against them, and Josh is in a formidable position to flip New York’s 19th Congressional District into Democratic hands come November.
