# Josh Riley

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, in Endicott, New York, to Paul and Barbara Riley. 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.
During college, Riley worked as an aide to U.S. Representative Maurice Hinchey, whom he credited with inspiring his interest in public service. After graduating, he worked as a policy analyst at the United States Department of Labor, focusing on unemployment and trade adjustment programs.
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. He also volunteered for a legal aid clinic to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. 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.

## Legal career

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

## U.S. House of Representatives
### Elections
#### 2022

In November 2021, Riley declared his candidacy for Congress in New York's 22nd congressional district, challenging incumbent Republican U.S. Representative Claudia Tenney. 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.
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. 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.
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. 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. Molinaro defeated Riley in the general election.

#### 2024

Riley defeated Molinaro in a rematch in the general election.

### Tenure

Riley was sworn into office on January 3, 2025.

### Committee Assignments

For the 119th Congress:
* Committee on Agriculture
** Subcommittee on Forestry and Horticulture (vice ranking member)
** Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry
* Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
** Subcommittee on Energy

### Caucus Memberships

Riley's caucus memberships include:
* Future Forum
* New Democrat Coalition
* Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition

## Personal life

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

## Electoral history

US House election, 2022: New York District 19 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Josh Riley | 31,193 | 62.61% |
| | Democratic | Jamie Cheney | 18,625 | 37.39% |
| Total votes | Total votes | 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 | Write-in | 105 | 0.04% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 287,618 | 100% |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic |
US House election, 2024: New York District 19 :
| Party | 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 | Write-in | 406 | 0.11% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 377,343 | 100% |
| | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican |