TCDC News, Events and Opinion

Several TCDC members attended the all-day  NY-19 Votes Coalition Summit in Oneonta NY on April 25. This was a great opportunity to meet other activists from our diverse NY-19 swing congressional district.

We met to learn from each other, hear from Congressman Riley and participate in workshops that support skills in social media, leadership, and listening in order to build positive relationships with voters. TCDC member Anne Wiegard led the social media workshop and presented information about the NY-19 Messaging Working Group that she co-leads with Lin Sakai of Ulster county. Ann Reichlin reported on the NY-19 Voter Registration Working group that she co-leads with Miriam Rabban of Columbia County.

Attending the summit reinforces one’s understanding of the size and complexity of our congressional district. Here in Tompkins County, surrounded by lots of registered Democrats and left-leaning voters it can be easy to believe that most in our district lean to the left politically. Meeting people from the rest of the district reminds us that this is not the case. It takes four hours just to drive across the district!

Much of our district is very rural and leans much further to the right politically. Democrats in Chenango County  for example, are outnumbered by Republicans by a 2:1 margin. About  one-third of the electorate in NY-19 is comprised of unaffiliated registered voters. Even if every single registered Democratic voter votes blue in 2026, we will not hold onto our House seat unless thousands of unaffiliated and/or Republican voters also vote Democratic.

NY-19 is one of the tightest swing congressional districts in the country. The 2024 margin was only a few thousand votes. For years, activists in Tompkins County felt their efforts were more useful if they drove all the way to Pennsylvania to knock on doors. But now, we are the swing district that people are driving to. In fact, Swing Left, an organization that trains and mobilizes volunteer canvassers, presented their Ground Truth workshop at the summit to support our efforts at home.

Our efforts in Tompkins County will help decide which party controls Congress. If Democrats can win majorities in the House and Senate, we can put a stop to Donald Trump’s relentless abuse of power and his endless destruction of our economic, educational, and social well-being. In February 2026 Donald Trump endorsed Josh Riley’s Republican opponent; he announced that Riley is one of his top six House targets.

2026 is a high-stakes election year. It is certain that if the GOP candidate wins in NY-19 and the GOP continues to control the congressional agenda, Trump’s destructive policies will continue to make our lives worse. In contrast, Josh Riley and Democratic House will work hard to make our lives better.

If you would like to receive the NY-19 Votes Coalition newsletter that will provide follow-up information from the summit, please send a request to Lin Sakai.