District 19 includes Broome, Chenango, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Greene, Sullivan, Tioga, Tompkins counties and parts of Otsego, Rensselaer, and Ulster counties.
According to early projected numbers by the Associated Press, Riley led Molinaro by 127,053 to 96,216, with 59 percent of the vote as of 10:20 p.m.
Molinaro, a Westchester County native from Yonkers, served in the New York State Assembly and as the county executive of Dutchess County. He was also the Republican nominee for New York governor in 2018, ultimately losing to Democratic incumbent Andrew Cuomo.
Molinaro has veered to the right during the past term on fears of immigration.
Riley, a Broome County native who clerked on the Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals, also served as general counsel to former US Sen. Al Franken. He's also a lawyer and former US Department of Labor policy analyst.
In 2022, Molinaro beat Riley by 1.6 points, or 4,500 votes.
This is a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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