With a few exceptions, New York’s Tuesday down-ballot primary election formalized general election matchups largely established for months.

An overwhelming majority of candidates ran unopposed, including in the Southern Tier, where Democrat Josh Riley and Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro will face off in a rematch of their 2022 battle for the 19th Congressional District. Molinaro had won the district, which includes the cities of Binghamton, Ithaca and Cortland, by just over 1.5 percent.

Greater Binghamton’s representatives in Albany — State Sen. Lea Webb and Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, both Democrats — also faced no primary opponents. Neither did their Republican challengers, Tompkins County Legislator Mike Sigler and Binghamton resident Lisa O’Keefe.

Though the six faced no intra-party opposition, the November general election is expected to be highly competitive. In 2022, Webb defeated former Binghamton Mayor Rich David by 1.4 percent, while Lupardo overcame Sophia Resciniti, a former Binghamton city councilwoman, by a larger 10 percent margin.

The rematch between Riley and Molinaro has become increasingly heated in recent weeks as the two clash over immigration and reproductive rights. After a lengthy redistricting saga that ended with maps approved by the State Legislature’s Democratic supermajorities, the contest is still expected to be one of the closest in the state.

Karen Beebe, the chair of the Broome County Democratic Party, told Pipe Dream “the energy in Broome County for our hometown candidate Josh Riley is palpable.”

“Broome County alone secured more petition signatures to get Josh on the ballot than his entire 11-county district required,” Beebe wrote in an email. “Residents are worried about the cost of living, the housing crisis, social security, medical costs — all the things that are important to their stability and their family’s security. Josh Riley and a Democratic Congress are dedicated to fighting for upstate New York working families.”

Riley, on his campaign website, touts his family’s century-long history in Broome County. After graduating from the College of William and Mary and Harvard Law School, he worked in several government roles. Molinaro, running for his second term, was elected mayor of Tivoli, N.Y. and has also served as Dutchess County executive and as an assemblyman.

Broome County Republicans Chair Benji Federman, in a statement to Pipe Dream, contrasted Riley’s and Molinaro’s backgrounds.

“The Broome Republicans have endorsed Rep. Molinaro’s re-election and are building an army of grassroots volunteers and small donors to deliver Marc a resounding victory in November,” Federman wrote in an email. “Unlike DC Insider Josh Riley who made millions representing Big Pharma & Big Oil, Marc Molinaro has spent his entire life fighting and delivering for Upstate New York block by block.”

Polling suggests a tougher electoral climate for Democrats after the party exceeded expectations in 2022. A poll released by Siena College has President Joe Biden carrying New York by eight percentage points, and an Emerson College poll has Biden up by 10. Biden won New York by over 23 percent in his 2020 victory.

Elsewhere, the marquee Democratic primary for a congressional district in the Bronx and Westchester saw George Latimer, the Westchester County executive, defeat Rep. Jamaal Bowman by nearly 17 percent. The race was the most expensive in the history of the House of Representatives, with $24.8 million spent. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent over $14 million to defeat Bowman, largely because of his vocal opposition to Israel’s military assault in Gaza. A political action committee endorsing candidates who support cryptocurrency and blockchain, Fairshake, also spent more than $2 million on anti-Bowman advertisements.

On the pro-Bowman side, progressive groups, Justice Democrats and the Working Families Party, spent $1 million and $538,000 respectively.

On Long Island, John Avlon, a former CNN commentator, defeated Nancy Goroff. Avlon will face freshman Rep. Nick LaLota in November. In a Syracuse-area district, Democratic State Sen. John Mannion won a competitive primary and will challenge Brandon Williams, another freshman Republican.