Molinaro to depart federal job at the end of this week

CATSKILL―Multiple sources have confirmed that Marc Molinaro will be seeking the Republican nomination to run for State Assembly in the 102nd District. And while Molinaro himself has yet to corroborate the reports, he has announced that he will be leaving his federal job in Washington, D.C.

“After a record-breaking year working with [President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy], my last day with the administration will be Friday, February 20,” Molinaro posted on Friday to social media.  

“I’m coming home to be closer to my family and get back into the fight. New York is being run into the ground. Stay tuned,” he wrote.

Molinaro, who currently resides in Catskill with his wife and four children, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate last August as the administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) after being nominated for the position by President Trump.

His political career spans more than 30 years. Most recently he served as U.S. representative for New York's 19th Congressional District from 2023 to 2025, losing reelection to current Democratic Rep. Josh Riley.

Molinaro’s name has been on the hushed lips of local Republican leadership for several weeks as a possible contender for the Assembly seat being vacated by Chris Tague, according to sources with knowledge of the plans. The reason for the apparent secrecy is tied to Molinaro’s FTA position and an official candidacy announcement is now forthcoming, those sources say.

Porcupine Soup reported last week that Molinaro could be a candidate―something Greene County Republican Committee Chairman Brent Bogardus had called “speculation.”

Molinaro has been in public office since the age of 18 when he was elected to the Village of Tivoli Board of Trustees. A year later, Tivoli voters elected him the youngest mayor in the country at the time.

He served four terms in the Dutchess County Legislature and represented the 103rd District in the New York State Assembly from 2006 to 2011. Molinaro was elected Dutchess County Executive in 2011, serving until 2023 when he stepped down to serve in Congress.

In 2018, Molinaro was the GOP nominee for governor, losing to Democratic incumbent Andrew Cuomo.

A Republican from Schoharie County, Tague has been the 102nd Assembly District representative since 2018, and announced in November that he will be pursuing the 51st State Senate District seat this year.

Since then, multiple candidates have emerged to replace Tague. Both Windham Town Supervisor Thomas Hoyt and Richard Amedure of Rensselaerville announced in December that they would be seeking the Republican nod. Democrats include Delhi Village Trustee Janet Tweed, Town of Cairo Democratic Chairwoman Mary Finneran and Catskill Village Trustee Thomas Boomhower.

The last 102nd Assembly District race was between incumbent Tague and Tweed in 2024, with Tague prevailing, 46,038 to 26,423. The district covers all of Greene and Schoharie counties, along with parts of Delaware, Albany, Otsego and Ulster counties.