Set at the eastern end of the village, Morning Sunshine is a great place for coffee, sandwiches, meet-ups and easily the best place for miles to buy cheese not covered in plastic. On Thursday evening it was host to a good-sized local crowd of Democrats who were on hand to hear from congressional candidate Josh Riley, who is trying to unseat Marc Molinaro, the current congressman for the 19th New York district.

The crowd was a mix of Ellenville newcomers and longtime residents, and, as might be expected, it was a friendly crowd for Josh Riley, who was accompanied by Katherine Clark, the House Whip for the Democratic minority, who represents Massachusetts’ Fifth District.

Clark’s presence alongside Riley isn’t the first time a representative from another state has come along to offer support in this race. Texas Representative Chip Roy appeared beside Marc Molinaro to rally the crowd at Running Deer Inn in Napanoch earlier this month.

That’s because the 19th district is crucial for both parties. While most congressional races across the country have a definitive front runner, Riley versus Molinaro is neck-and-neck. It’s a swing district that could determine which party controls the House of Representatives, and, with that control, how much a president can do with their four-year tenure.

This is the second bout between Molinaro and Riley. The last time, Molinaro won 50.8% to 49.2% – a margin of victory of fewer than 4,500 votes.

Because of that tight margin, estimates by Politico at the end of September declared this race the most expensive of its kind in the country, by both parties. They reported Democrats and their allies had spent an estimated $18.7 million and Republicans and their allies an estimated $16.8 million on the race – and those numbers are a month old, missing the most heated period of the campaign. At $35 million and rising between the two sides, Molinaro and Riley are in the middle of an aggressive, winner-take-all campaign, and the ubiquitous, increasingly heightened campaign ads from both candidates reflect that urgency.

Clark was clear about the Democratic position on the stakes for this race. She emphasized women’s health, abortion rights, and the fentanyl plague as national political issues that could be determined by the winner of this race.

Someone in the crowd asked Riley why New Yorkers, living in a blue state, should be concerned about the future of those rights. “If we try to do everything correctly in New York and protect women’s rights,” Riley responded, “that will mean nothing if the federal government, [Speaker of the House] Mike Johnson, got his way, and enacted an abortion ban across the country.”

Healthcare was a theme for Riley. “This is a very rural district and the situation regarding access to health care is critical.” That lead to a central point that, according to Riley, sets Democrats apart from Republicans: “At some point in this country we have to get to where we see healthcare as a civic right.”

Eventually Riley got to immigration reform, which has been Molinaro’s major point of attack on Riley – as abortion has been Riley’s major point of attack on Molinaro. He spoke of the complexity of the issue and the failure to establish immigration reform because of a lack of support for the Bipartisan Border Security Bill, which failed to leave the house this year largely because of inadequate Republican support. “What we cannot do,” Riley said, “is to use immigration for attacks.”

“The eyes of the world are on us in this election,” Riley said. “What we need to do is to lift each other up.”

He concluded noting that in his hometown in Broome County and in his own family, “There are Republicans and Trump voters and there will be disagreements, but what we cannot do is demonize other people and try to win elections by divisiveness.”

The general election is on November 5. The deadline to register to vote is October 26.

Click here to read our account of a local Marc Molinaro event.