Marcus Molinaro

Marcus Molinaro is the Republican candidate for the New York State Assembly, District 102, in the November 3, 2026 general election, in which he faces Democrat Janet Tweed.[1][2] He is a former Dutchess County executive and U.S. representative who served as administrator of the Federal Transit Administration from August 2025 to February 2026.[1]

Marcus Molinaro lives in Red Hook, New York, and earned an A.S. in humanities and social sciences from Dutchess Community College in 1995.[1] Ballotpedia lists his career experience as including work as a real estate salesperson, county executive of Dutchess County and second vice president of the New York State Association of Counties.[1]

Molinaro served in the New York State Assembly, District 103, from 2007 to 2012, and Didi Barrett succeeded him.[1] He was the Republican nominee for governor of New York in 2018 and lost to incumbent Andrew Cuomo, receiving 36.2% of the vote.[1] He represented New York's 19th Congressional District in the U.S. House from 2023 to 2025, after which Josh Riley succeeded him.[1] He served as Administrator of the U.S. Federal Transit Administration from August 2, 2025, to February 20, 2026.[1]

The Republican primary for Assembly District 102 on June 23, 2026 was canceled, and Molinaro advanced to the general election.[1]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21. Not yet independently fact-checked.