Elections in the Hudson Valley: Five things to know before heading to the polls
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Hudson Valley voters are weighing their choices in an election that has pitted the Republican appeals on public safety and inflation against Democratic support for abortion rights and gun control.
Some have already cast ballots during a nine-day early voting period that ends Sunday. Others are making a plan to visit the polls on Election Day, Tuesday.
At stake is control of New York's government, with a gubernatorial race that has gotten tighter than many expected, and the House of Representatives, where Republicans have taken aim at three blue Hudson Valley seats.
In addition, there are a slew of races for representation in the state Legislature, and many areas have races within their municipality.
Here are five things to know as the campaign season comes to a close:
The Hudson Valley is hot
Three Congressional races in the Hudson Valley remain competitive, among 75 nationwide that will decide whether Republicans can gain a majority in the House of Representatives, according to the Cook Political Report.
In the 17th District, five-term incumbent Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-Cold Spring, faces a strong challenge from Assemblyman Mike Lawler, R-Pearl River. The race had garnered national attention, with Republicans targeting Maloney, who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Maloney romped in a June Democratic primary challenge waged from the political left from state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, D-Armonk.
Now he faces Lawler's attack from the political right in a competitive race Cook calls a toss-up. Lawler said the impact of the region's high property taxes would be lessened if Maloney had been able rally support to the Republican tax reform measure that capped the deductibility of state and local taxes at 10%. Maloney, though, said the House of Representatives passed a bill that would raise the cap to $80,000, but it failed to come to a vote in the Senate, where the filibuster rules would require Republican votes for passage.
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In the 18th District, Assemblyman Colin Schmitt, R-New Windsor, wants to oust Rep. Pat Ryan, D-Gardiner, the former Ulster county executive who won a special election to represent the 19th District in August. Both candidates are veterans in a district that includes the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, from which Ryan graduated. Schmitt is a sergeant in the U.S. Army National Guard, while Ryan served two tours in Iraq as an Army intelligence officer. The Cook Report rates the competitive race as "leaning Democratic."
The 19th District pits Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, who was defeated by Ryan in August, against attorney Josh Riley, D-Ithaca, a former top aide to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. It's an open seat that Cook rates a toss-up. Molinaro has attacked Riley for moving back to the district after working for many years on Capitol Hill, while Riley's camp has pointed out Molarino resides just outside the newly drawn district.
The stars are out
The bruising battles have drawn national figures from both the Republican and Democratic parties.
In recent days, high-ranking Republicans have descended on the Hudson Valley. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Monday joined Lawler and Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-Suffolk, at a rally in Thornwood. Headlining fundraisers for Lawler were New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California.
Christie faulted New York’s bail reform while Scalise, speaking before Orthodox Jewish voters in Monsey, disclosed that national Republican groups had invested $8 million in the Lawler-Maloney race. Christie previously campaigned with Molinaro in Kingston and Lake Katrine, while Schmitt was expected to campaign with Zeldin in Chester Saturday.
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Top Democrats have come to the aid of Maloney, who oversees the national effort to hold the House majority while stumping to save his own political life.
On Saturday, Clinton, who lives in Chappaqua in the 17th District, spoke at a Maloney get-out-the-vote rally in downtown Nyack, warning that Congressional Republican leaders have raised the possibility of troubling changes to Social Security and Medicare. On Sunday afternoon, First Lady Jill Biden spoke at a Maloney fundraiser on the patio at Hal Fetner’s home in New Castle, highlighting the impact of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision on abortion rights.
Clinton on Wednesday highlighted the military service of Ryan, who is running the 18th District, in a tour of the The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor in New Windsor, after appearing with Riley earlier in the day in Sullivan County.
Red and Blue
In the surprisingly competitive race for New York governor, the issues of crime and gun control, abortion rights, and economic development have stood out in the race between Buffalo Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul, and Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-Suffolk. The race has unfolded in a state with 46% of voters are enrolled Democrats, compared to 22% for the Republicans, and 23% of voters who are enrolled in no party.
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Zeldin has made inroads with his tough-on-crime stance, vowing to declare a public safety emergency on the day he is sworn in, and remove Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg from his elected post. He wants to replicate the surprise victory of Putnam County state Sen. George Pataki in 1994, who ousted Mario Cuomo in part, with his promise to restore New York's death penalty.
Hochul has touted New York's strict gun-control laws, her support for abortion rights, and the surge in high-tech investments across the state, incuded Micron's $100 billion plant in Syracuse and IBM's pledge to invest $20 billion in research in New York.
In other statewide races, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Brooklyn Democrat has run a low-key race against Republican Joe Pinion, the Yonkers native looking to upset the four-term incumbent. Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, a Nassau County Democrat who is seeking his fourth term, faces Republican Paul Rodriguez, a Wall Street financial advisor. State Attorney General Letitia James, seeking her second term, faces New York City attorney Michael Henry.
State house races
There are three key Hudson Valley state legislative races to watch.
39th Senate District: Redistricting has created an open seat, where Poughkeepsie Mayor Robert Rolison, a Republican, faces Democrat Julie Shiroishi, of Beacon, the former chief of staff to Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson. The district includes parts of Putnam, Dutchess and Orange counties.
41st Senate District: Two incumbents, state Sen. Michelle Hinchey D-Saugerties, and state Sen. Sue Serino, R-Hyde Park, face off in a newly created district that includes parts of Ulster, Dutchess, Columbia and Greene counties.
90th Assembly District: Assemblyman Nader Sayegh, D-Yonkers, faces a challenge from Mike Breen, a Yonkers Republican in his third term on the Yonkers City Council.
What will bring voters to the polls?
Ryan's victory in August was largely attributed to Democrat voter enthusiasm fueled by the abortion rights issue created when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and his party has looked to the issue as a factor that could prevent a "red wave" coming to fruition at the polls.
But, there are other issues on the ballot, and whichever is most effective at drawing voters to the polls may decide which candidates celebrate Tuesday. And, abortion was not the most important issue to any party's voters, according to a national NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll released Wednesday.
With nearly 1,600 adults responding between Oct. 24 to 27, 76% of whom said they were "definitely voting" in the election, inflation was the top issue on the ballot for 36% of respondents, followed by "preserving democracy" (26%) and abortion (14%).
Inflation was the top issue for 54% of Republican respondents, followed by "preserving democracy" (15%) and immigration (14%). For Democrats, "preserving democracy was the most important issue (42%), followed by abortion (22%) and inflation.
Inflation was also the top issue of Independents (40%), followed by "preserving democracy" (23%) and abortion (14%).
Republican respondents were also more motivated to vote, with 88% stating they would "definitely" vote, compared to 82% of Democrats and 73% of Independents. Of all respondents in the northeast region, 73% said they would "definitely" vote.
How to vote
During the early voting period, which runs through Sunday, registered voters can visit any special polling site within their county.
On Election Day on Tuesday, voters must visit the site assigned to them based on their address, with polls open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Visit voterlookup.elections.ny.gov for your polling place and to see who is on the ballot in your region.
Follow David McKay Wilson on Twitter @davidmckay415.
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This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Elections in the Hudson Valley NY: What you need to know
