Ousted Rep. Molinaro eyes bid for neighboring House seat

• After losing an August 2022 special election to Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) in the Hudson Valley, Molinaro secured a newly redistricted seat directly to the north that November.
• But in a rematch with Democrat Josh Riley this year, Molinaro narrowly lost his seat.

Driving the news: Molinaro told Axios that "there are people who have reached out" about him running in outgoing Rep. Elise Stefanik's (R-N.Y.) district.

• Trump tapped Stefanik, the House GOP conference chair, to serve as ambassador to the United Nations.
• "I'm certainly very flattered. I want to continue to be a voice for upstate New York," said Molinaro, without giving a firm indication of his plans.

Between the lines: The Republican nominee for the GOP-leaning seat in New York's North Country will be selected by local county party chairs.

• Molinaro represents areas to the south of Stefanik's district, but has built relationships with county party chairs around the state from his 2018 run for New York governor.

• Several local Republicans have also been floated for Stefanik's seat, including state Assemblyman Chris Tague.

What to watch: Stefanik's district went for then-President Trump by 11 percentage points in 2020 and has only drifted further to the right since then, making Republicans heavily favored in the special election.

• But special elections during Trump's last presidency saw huge swings towards Democrats, meaning an upset isn't out of the question.