Market Street in Poughkeepsie, New York, along the Hudson River and steps away from a train station used by New York City commuters, is home to a 19th-century theater, a post office and convention center. It's a short walk to the progressive bastion of Vassar College and a short drive from the presidential library of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
In this unusual election year, it's also where a critical congressional race is playing out, the battle for New York's 18th Congressional District, which is at the epicenter of the fight for control of the House of Representatives.
With a perilously narrow majority, Republicans are fighting to protect several House incumbents from New York and to make inroads in Democratic-held seats, including in Poughkeepsie.
A spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm of House Republicans, told CBS News "the road to the House majority" runs through New York and California, another state with several closely contested races. "House Republicans have a strong game plan to go on offense and hold Democrats accountable for their blue state failures on crime, rising costs and border chaos," said the spokesman. Republican campaign leadership held a call to discuss battleground races Thursday evening, CBS News has learned.
At a makeshift office on Market Street, Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat first elected in 2022, was meeting and rallying earlier this month with canvassers, who'll help conduct outreach to voters in New York's 18th District. Ryan, in a gray polo shirt and jeans on a stiflingly hot day, told CBS News his race will be pivotal in his party's efforts to win the House majority.
"There's no doubt that control of the House runs through New York and runs specifically through the Hudson Valley," said Ryan. "We feel that responsibility and duty."
Ryan first won the seat — also previously held by a Democrat — in the weeks after the Supreme Court's abortion rights decision in the summer of 2022, leveraging a message on women's reproductive rights to narrowly defeat a Republican challenger. Ryan is again pressing the issue this year.
"It's on the minds of the vast majority of Americans, who want reproductive freedom," he said.
Alison Esposito, a Republican who unsuccessfully ran for lieutenant governor in 2022 and worked previously with New York City police, is challenging Ryan for the seat. Speaking with CBS News as she went door-to-door to meet voters near the village of Goshen, New York, Esposito said Republicans are optimistic about winning seats, even in a state led by Democrats.
"New Yorkers are fed up," Esposito said. "I don't see us losing any seats. And I definitely see us picking up this seat."
Esposito has pushed a message about border security, raising her profile with cable television news guest appearances in recent years.
"People of New York are sick of the crime. They're sick of the migrant crisis," she told CBS News. "And they're (concerned) about public safety."
Legal disputes, a court-ordered change to the New York congressional map earlier this decade and further adjustment to district lines in the past year have produced at least a half a dozen uniquely competitive races for House seats in New York.
The New York 18th District includes mid-Hudson Valley counties of Orange, Dutchess and Ulster, and both parties view it as competitive.
Other battleground areas on the congressional map in New York include Long Island, where two freshmen Republicans are trying to hold onto their seats. In central New York, Rep. Brandon Williams, a Republican from near Syracuse, is also attempting to fend off a Democratic challenger.
A CBS News review found both parties have been funneling money and manpower into winning the New York races. The National Republican Congressional Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee have both established field offices and placed staff in New York to bolster their efforts.
Democrats have erected billboard ads targeting some of the Republican incumbents and their votes on government spending. Other ad campaigns have targeted Republicans for votes on abortion, guns rights and border issues.
The Republican campaign teams have already spent $5 million in advertising on candidates in the New York City, Binghamton and Syracuse regions, as they try to reinforce first-term incumbents in those areas. At least $2 million has been budgeted for Syracuse alone.
New York's battleground House races are also distinctively expensive. Campaign operatives from both parties told CBS News the fundraising needs are larger and more pressing for New York candidates because of the higher advertising rates in the New York City metropolitan area.
That's especially true in the race of the New York 18th District, where both Ryan and Esposito are expected to air campaign advertisements on New York City television stations to reach prospective voters.
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