Marcus James Molinaro ( ; born October 8, 1975) is an American politician who served as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

for

New York's 19th congressional district New York's 19th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives located in New York (state), New York’s Catskill Mountains, Catskills, Hudson Valley, greater Capital District (New York), Capit ...

from 2023 to 2025. A member of the Republican Party, Molinaro was a member of the Dutchess County Legislature and the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

before being elected county executive of

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later o ...

in 2011. He was reelected county executive in 2015 and 2019. Molinaro is also a former mayor of Tivoli; when he became mayor at age 19, he was the youngest mayor in the United States at that time. Molinaro was the Republican nominee for

governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, losing to Democratic incumbent

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( , ; born December 6, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and son of former governor Mario Cuomo, ...

. On September 21, 2021, Molinaro announced that he would run for New York's 19th district in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. In the

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

held on August 23, 2022, Molinaro lost to Democratic nominee Pat Ryan, the

Ulster County Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. The count ...

executive, 51.2% to 48.8%. Molinaro was the Republican nominee for the same seat in the November 2022 general election, this time defeating Democratic nominee

Josh Riley Joshua Paul Riley (born January 21, 1981) is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the U.S. Representative for New York's 19th congressional district since 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously worked as a policy ...

under new district lines. Ryan, who defeated Molinaro in August, was also elected to a full term simultaneously in a neighboring district. Riley defeated Molinaro in a rematch in 2024.

Early life

Molinaro was born in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

, to Anthony Molinaro and Dona Vananden. After his parents' divorce, he and his mother moved to

Beacon, New York Beacon is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city located on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was 13,769. Beacon is part of the Kiryas ...

, in 1980, and to

Tivoli, New York Tivoli is a village (New York), village in Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population is 1,012, according to the 2020 census. The village, which was incorporated in 1872 from parts of Upp ...

, in 1989. Molinaro's mother struggled financially, and the family received

food stamps In the United States, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a Federal government of the United States, federal government program that provides food-purchasing assistance for Poverty ...

. Molinaro graduated from

Dutchess Community College Dutchess Community College (SUNY Dutchess, or DCC) is a Public college, public community college in Dutchess County, New York. It is one of 30 community colleges within State University of New York, the State University of New York system (SUNY) ...

in 2001 with an

Associate of Science Associate may refer to: Academics * Associate degree, a two-year educational degree in the United States, and some areas of Canada * Associate professor, an academic rank at a college or university * Technical associate or Senmonshi, a Japa ...

degree in

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

and

social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

Early political career

Molinaro was first elected to public office at the age of 18 in 1994, when he was elected to the Village of Tivoli's Board of Trustees. In 1995, he became the youngest mayor in the U.S. when he was elected mayor of Tivoli. He was reelected five times, and also served in the Dutchess County Legislature.

New York State Assembly

In 2006, Molinaro was elected to represent the 103rd District in the

. He served in the Assembly until 2011. In January 2011, at the recommendation of Assembly Minority Leader

Brian Kolb Brian M. Kolb (born August 14, 1952) is an American politician who served as a member of the New York State Assembly for the 131st district from 2000 to 2021. Kolb also served as minority leader from 2009 to 2020. Early life and education Kolb ...

, Governor

appointed Molinaro to serve on the Governor's Mandate Relief Redesign Team.

Dutchess County Executive

Molinaro announced his bid to succeed 20-year

Dutchess County Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later org ...

Executive William Steinhaus in May 2011. The campaign was endorsed by the county's Republican, Conservative, and Independence parties. On June 3, Beekman supervisor

Dan French Daniel J. French (born June 29, 1981) is an American politician who was the Town supervisor, supervisor of the Beekman, New York, Town of Beekman, New York (state), New York. He was the 2011 Democratic Party (United States), Democratic nominee fo ...

won the Democratic nomination. Molinaro won the November 8, 2011, election with 62% of the vote. He was sworn into office on January 1, 2012. In 2015, Molinaro was reelected, defeating Democratic nominee Diane Jablonski, 30,181 votes to 17,539. Molinaro won a third term in 2019, defeating Democratic nominee Joseph Ruggiero, 41,285 votes to 29,293. In 2014, Molinaro was awarded the Pace University Land Use Law Center's Groundbreaker's Award. As county executive, he spearheaded a 2015 initiative called "Think Differently" for people with disabilities; he also appointed a Deputy Commissioner of Special Needs in 2016. In 2015, Molinaro was elected second vice president of the New York State Association of Counties.

2018 gubernatorial election

In March 2018, Molinaro informed Republican leaders that he would run for

in the 2018 election. He announced his candidacy on April 2, 2018, and was endorsed by the New York Conservative Party on April 13. On May 23, the Republican Party unanimously nominated Molinaro for governor at its state convention, three days after the Reform Party endorsed Molinaro for its gubernatorial ticket. Molinaro's running mate was Julie Killian, a former Rye City councilwoman and state senate candidate. While he was described as a moderate during the campaign, Molinaro said in a March 2018 interview that he considered himself a

communitarian Communitarianism is a philosophy that emphasizes the connection between the individual and the community. Its overriding philosophy is based on the belief that a person's social identity and personality are largely molded by community relation ...

, explaining that he believed leaders need to bring together community members of different perspectives to solve the problems they face. Molinaro lost to incumbent Democratic governor

in the 2018 election, 60% to 36% of the vote.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2022 special

On September 21, 2021, Molinaro announced his candidacy for Congress in

. Ten days after this announcement, his campaign reported raising at least $350,000. A special election to fill the 19th congressional district seat was held in August 2022. The seat was left vacant following

Antonio Delgado Antonio Ramon Delgado (born January 28, 1977) is an American attorney and politician serving as the lieutenant governor of New York since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, Delgado served as the U.S. representative from New York's 19th con ...

's appointment as

Lieutenant Governor of New York The lieutenant governor of New York is a Constitution of New York, constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of the State of New York. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governo ...

. Molinaro lost the special election to Democrat Pat Ryan.

2022 general

Molinaro was also the Republican nominee in the November 2022 general election in the 19th district. In that election, he faced Democratic nominee

. He narrowly won the House seat with 50.8% of the vote.

2024 general

Molinaro sought reelection in 2024. He faced Riley in a rematch of their 2022 race. Riley defeated Molinaro.

=Tenure

= Molinaro was among a group of New York congressman calling for the ultimately successful expulsion of

George Santos George Anthony Devolder Santos (born July 22, 1988) is an American former politician and convicted felon. He served as the U.S. representative for from January to December 2023 when he was expelled from Congress. He had run for the seat in ...

from Congress.

Caucus memberships

Climate Solutions Caucus The Climate Solutions Caucus is a bipartisan caucus of U.S. legislators supported by the Citizens' Climate Lobby whose members work to achieve action addressing the risks from climate change. The House of Representatives and Senate each have a c ...

Republican Main Street Partnership The Republican Main Street Partnership is a nonprofit organization that was founded to raise funds to support politicians in the moderate wing of the Republican Party. As of 2024, the organization seems to be leaning away from its original cent ...

Political positions

In 2024, Molinaro was rated as the second most bipartisan member of the U.S. House during the

118th United States Congress The 118th United States Congress was a meeting of the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House ...

in the Bipartisan Index created by The Lugar Center and the

McCourt School of Public Policy Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy is located in Washington, D.C. The McCourt School offers one undergraduate degree, five master's degree programs, nine dual degrees, global learning opportunities in a range of destinations ...

. He has sponsored several bipartisan bills to help children and adults with disabilities. Molinaro supports

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

. He said that he would have voted for the

Respect for Marriage Act The Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA; ) is a landmark United States federal law passed by the 117th United States Congress in 2022 and signed into law by President Joe Biden. It repeals the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), requires the U.S. federal ...

had he been in office during the

117th Congress The 117th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3 ...

. In 2022, Molinaro stated "Like it or not, the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

has determined in the ''Dobbs'' decision that this is a states rights issue. As such, I do not believe that Congress has any role to play in a woman’s right to access." During the 118th Congress, Molinaro voted for the Parents Bill of Rights in Education, a bill that would require public schools to disclose information including budget, curriculum, and school performance to parents.

Personal life

Molinaro and his wife, Corinne Adams, reside in

Catskill, New York Catskill is a town in the southeastern section of Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 11,298 at the 2020 census, the largest town in the county. The western part of the town is in the Catskill Park. The town contains a v ...

. Molinaro has two children with his first wife Christy and two children with Adams. One of his children is on the

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

spectrum. Molinaro is

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Electoral history

References

External links

Congressman Marc Molinaro
official U.S. House website
Marc Molinaro for Congress
* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Molinaro, Marcus 1975 births 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives Candidates in the 2018 United States elections Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections County executives in New York (state) Dutchess Community College alumni Living people Mayors of places in New York (state) People from Beacon, New York Politicians from Dutchess County, New York Politicians from Yonkers, New York Protestants from New York (state) Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)