| Dear Jason,
It was quite the summer! Monica and I welcomed our second son, Mateo, into the world on June 27! We are over-joyed, under-slept, and so grateful for the many well-wishes.
Meanwhile, on the campaign trail, I've been humbled by the outpouring of support we have received. We're over a year away from the election, but I can already see the momentum building across this district. See below for some recent highlights from my time on the campaign trail.
And while I'm encouraged by what I'm seeing across Upstate New York, I'm frustrated with what we're seeing from the Republican-controlled House. They are more interested in Marjorie Taylor Greene's political priorities than the pocketbook issues affecting everyday folks in Upstate New York. They spend their time pointing fingers at each other instead of solving problems. When they do get anything done, it's usually something bad–giving handouts to Big Oil companies, making it harder for women in the military to access abortion services, or slashing funding for clean energy manufacturing jobs. As far as I can tell, the House Republicans' biggest accomplishment so far this year has been to protect George Santos and keep him in Congress!
I'm running for Congress to fight for you, not the special interests. While my opponent takes tons of corporate PAC money from the utility companies, I just filed objections to fight back against a major price hike they've proposed that would hurt Upstate New Yorkers. While my opponent cashes big checks from the NRA, I just filed a bipartisan brief in the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that people under domestic violence restraining orders should not have access to firearms. While my opponent takes money from big corporations that bust unions, I just joined the United Auto Workers on the picket line to show solidarity in their fight for fair wages. You can read about all of that and more below.
With gratitude & high hopes,
Josh | | PERSONAL NEWS | | Josh and Monica welcomed their second son, Mateo, to the world on June 27. |  | | ON THE TRAIL |  Our first Spiedie Fest as a family of four was a success—though some of us were more impressed than others with the "ballooms"…. |  Thanks to the Tioga Dems for inviting me to your annual pig roast. I am so thankful for your hard work in 2022, and I look forward to finishing the job with you in 2024. |  Thank you to the Columbia Dems for having me at your annual picnic. Let's win these upcoming local elections! |  I had an amazing time meeting folks at Vestal India Day! |  We had an… illuminating afternoon at the LUMA Projection Arts Festival in Binghamton! (See what I did there?) |  Thank you to the Sullivan County Democratic Committee for inviting me to participate in your annual fall brunch. It was great to see so many friends! |  We had a great time at the Tompkins Dems BBQ! First, we win local races. Then, we flip #NY19. Now, we eat. |  Thanks to everyone who joined us at Argos Warehouse in Ithaca! |  I was so honored to join our Muslim community in Vestal to congratulate them on the opening of their new mosque and cultural center. |  Always great to see friendly faces at the Endicott Apple Festival. |  Thank you, Delaware County Democrats, for hosting a great event to support local candidates! Let's get out the vote! |  We had a great time at Blues on the Bridge in Binghamton! |  I was proud to stand in solidarity with UAW at the picket line in Tappan because workers deserve to share in the rewards of their labor. | | CAMPAIGN HQ | | Josh was endorsed by NewDems, a coalition of nearly 100 House Democrats focused on practical solutions to strengthen the economy. Congresswoman Annie Kuster, the NewDems Chair, said: "As a fifth-generation Upstate New Yorker, Josh Riley has a deep understanding of the needs and priorities of his community. In the House, NewDems are eager to work with Josh to advance policies focused on innovation, the economy, climate change, workforce development, and supporting the middle class."
Our campaign raised nearly $800k in Q2, beating our opponent by about $170k and making us one of only four challengers in the country to outraise an incumbent. While our opponent reported just 18 human donors from our congressional district–relying instead on Corporate PACs and Party Bosses–we had over 1,000 donors from the district and over 95% of our contributions were $100 or less. | | IN THE NEWS | | Josh sat down with Ithaca Voice and WHCU to talk about the campaign and the issues facing Upstate New Yorkers, and he spoke with WIVT about his objections to NYSEG's proposed rate hike. | | POLICY PRIORITIES | | Josh called on regulators to block NYSEG's rate increase while Marc Molinaro took thousands of dollars from the utility monopoly and stayed silent.
This summer, Upstate New York's energy monopoly, New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG), proposed a massive 22% increase in utility rates. Two weeks later, Marc Molinaro cashed a $4,000 campaign check from NYSEG (bringing his total haul from NYSEG and its lobbyists to over $20,000), and then he stayed silent. Meanwhile, Josh has called on regulators to reject the proposed rate increase.
Josh said: "Career politician Marc Molinaro cashed NYSEG's checks, and now he's looking the other way while they jack up rates and screw Upstate New Yorkers. I'll never sell out Upstate New York, and I'll always fight for workers, consumers, seniors, and small businesses who just can't afford another price hike."
Josh filed a bipartisan brief in the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that people under domestic violence restraining orders should not have access to firearms.
Representing U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar and others, Josh filed a brief in the case of United States v. Rahimi, urging the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that allowed people under domestic violence restraining orders to have guns, even though data shows women and children are far more likely to be killed in that situation. Josh argued that there is bipartisan consensus for laws that protect survivors of domestic violence. (Marc Molinaro, by contrast, voted to let domestic violence convicts have guns.) | |
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