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Josh Riley

Josh Riley
Official House portrait of Riley smiling in front of the U.S. flag, wearing a black suit, white shirt, and striped red, blue, and black tie.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 19th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2025
Preceded byMarc Molinaro
Personal details
Born
Joshua Paul Riley

(1981-01-21) January 21, 1981 (age 44)
Endicott, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Monica Kohli
​
(m. 2016)​
Children2
EducationCollege of William and Mary (BS)
Harvard University (JD)
Signature
WebsiteHouse website

Joshua Paul Riley (born January 21, 1981) is an American politician and lawyer who serves 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 analyst at the U.S. Department of Labor and as counsel on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. His district covers the southeastern part of Upstate New York, including rural areas along with the cities of Ithaca and Binghamton.

Early life and education

Joshua Paul Riley was born on January 21, 1981,[1][2] in Endicott, New York, to Paul and Barbara Riley.[3][4] He graduated from Union-Endicott High School in 1999 and earned a bachelor's degree in government and economics from the College of William & Mary in 2003.[5][6][7]

During college, Riley worked as an aide to U.S. Representative Maurice Hinchey, whom he credited with inspiring his interest in public service.[8] After graduating, he worked as a policy analyst at the United States Department of Labor, focusing on unemployment and trade adjustment programs.[8]

In 2004, Riley enrolled at Harvard Law School, where he worked as a Heyman Fellow on the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.[7][6] He also volunteered for a legal aid clinic to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.[3] He graduated with a Juris Doctor in 2007 and was presented the Dean's Award for Community Leadership from then-Dean of Harvard Law School and current U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.[3][7]

Legal career

After law school, Riley worked as an associate in the law firm of Boies Schiller Flexner for two years.[7] He then clerked for Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California.[7][3] From 2011 to 2014, he served as general counsel to Senator Al Franken on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.[5][9] Riley later returned to Boies Schiller Flexner, where he became a partner and remained until 2021.[5] He then worked as a partner at Jenner & Block.[5]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2022

Main article: 2022 New York's 19th congressional district election
New York's 19th U.S. House district between 2023 and 2025

In November 2021, Riley declared his candidacy for Congress in New York's 22nd congressional district, challenging incumbent Republican U.S. Representative Claudia Tenney.[10] Due to redistricting, redrawing of the map by a court-appointed special master, and U.S. Representative Antonio Delgado resigning to become the Lieutenant Governor of New York, Riley ended up running in the new 19th congressional district.[11]

The old 19th district was represented by Pat Ryan, a Democrat, who won the August special election to succeed Delgado but ran in the new New York's 18th congressional district in the November general election due to redistricting.[12] The 18th district became vacant when incumbent U.S. Representative Sean Patrick Maloney decided to run in the neighboring 17th congressional district after redistricting, which forced out U.S. Representative Mondaire Jones, the incumbent of the 17th district.[13]

Riley defeated Dutchess County businesswoman Jamie Cheney in the Democratic primary and faced Republican nominee and Dutchess County executive Marc Molinaro in the general election.[14] Molinaro lost the August special election to Pat Ryan for the old 19th district, but was on the ballot again in November for the new 19th district.[14] Molinaro defeated Riley in the general election.[15]

2024

Main article: 2024 New York's 4th congressional district election

Riley defeated Molinaro in a rematch in the general election.[16][17]

Tenure

Riley on the day of his swearing into the 119th Congress, 2025

Riley was sworn into office on January 3, 2025.[1]

Committee Assignments

For the 119th Congress:[18]

Caucus Memberships

Riley's caucus memberships include:[1]

Personal life

Riley lives in Ithaca, New York, with his wife, Monica Kohli, a strategy consultant.[1] They married in Washington, D.C., in 2016 and have two sons.[19][3]

Electoral history

US House election, 2022: New York District 19[20][21]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Josh Riley 31,193 62.61%
Democratic Jamie Cheney 18,625 37.39%
Total votes 49,818 100%
General election
Republican Marc Molinaro 129,960 45.18%
Conservative Marc Molinaro 16,044 5.58%
Total Marc Molinaro 146,004 50.76%
Democratic Josh Riley 124,396 43.25%
Working Families Josh Riley 17,113 5.95%
Total Josh Riley 141,509 49.20%
Write-in 105 0.04%
Total votes 287,618 100%
Republican gain from Democratic
US House election, 2024: New York District 19[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Josh Riley 170,049 45.06%
Working Families Josh Riley 22,598 5.99%
Total Josh Riley 192,647 51.05%
Republican Marc Molinaro 164,001 43.46%
Conservative Marc Molinaro 20,289 5.38%
Total Marc Molinaro (incumbent) 184,290 48.84%
Write-in 406 0.11%
Total votes 377,343 100%
Democratic gain from Republican

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Rep. Josh Riley – D New York, 19th – Biography". LegiStorm. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  2. ^ "New York New Members 2025". The Hill. December 11, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e Henderson, Nick (August 15, 2022). "Josh Riley brings experience to 19th District race". Hudson Valley One. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  4. ^ Golden, Vaughn (August 10, 2022). "NY-19 primary: Josh Riley touts policy experience, Southern Tier roots". WSKG-FM. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d Cunnington, Tyler (November 9, 2021). "Binghamton Native and First-Time Politician Josh Riley Announces his Running for Congress". WICZ-TV. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Harding, Robert (February 5, 2022). "Josh Riley joins Democratic field in race to represent Auburn, Syracuse in Congress". The Citizen. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Joshua Riley's Biography". Justfacts.votesmart.org. Vote Smart. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Teitelbaum, Felix (May 12, 2022). "Interview: Congressional Candidate Josh Riley". WRFI. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  9. ^ Rod, Marc (September 8, 2022). "Molinaro looks for a second chance in a new NY-19, with a new opponent". Jewish Insider. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  10. ^ Weiner, Mark (November 9, 2021). "Former U.S. Senate lawyer will seek to unseat Rep. Claudia Tenney in 2022 election". The Post-Standard. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  11. ^ Weiner, Mark (May 16, 2022). "Josh Riley exits race for Congress in Central New York to campaign in Southern Tier". The Post-Standard. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  12. ^ Ashford, Grace (August 24, 2022). "Democrat Pat Ryan Wins in House Race That Turned on Abortion". The New York Times. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  13. ^ Fandos, Nicholas (May 17, 2022). "Fearing 'Extinction-Level Event,' N.Y. Democrats Turn Against Each Other". The New York Times. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  14. ^ a b Golden, Vaughn (August 24, 2022). "Riley defeats Cheney in Democratic primary for 19th Congressional District". WSKG-FM. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  15. ^ Lee, Vincent (November 9, 2022). "Marc Molinaro Wins New York House Race, Defeating Democrat Riley". Bloomberg News. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  16. ^ "Democrats Flip a Second House Seat in New York, Toppling Molinaro". The New York Times. November 6, 2024.
  17. ^ Ngo, Emily (November 6, 2024). "Dem Josh Riley topples House Republican in crucial upstate New York district". Politico. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  18. ^ "Josh Riley". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
  19. ^ Grego, Patrick (October 25, 2022). "On the Trail with Josh Riley – The River". The River Hudson Valley Newsroom. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  20. ^ "2022 Democratic Primary". NY State Board of Elections. August 23, 2022.
  21. ^ "2022 General". NY State Board of Elections. November 8, 2022.
  22. ^ "2024 General". NY State Board of Elections. November 5, 2024.

External links

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 19th congressional district
2025–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States representatives by seniority
423rd 		Succeeded by
Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Riley
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