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When Democratic Rep. Steve Israel announced his retirement earlier this year, he said he wanted to leave Congress during a presidential year to give Democrats a greater shot at holding his seat.  

But Republicans are pointing to new poll commissioned by the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC tied to House GOP leadership, and obtained by Roll Call to underscore the competitiveness of his district.  

Democratic county chairs in New York's 19th District are meeting Saturday to select their candidate of choice in a must-win seat for the party to make gains in the House.  

Democrats have no shortage of interested people in this Hudson Valley district that President Barack Obama carried twice. But the 19th isn't classically blue. It's rural and agricultural, and Democrats are anxious about landing a candidate who fits the turf — someone who will allow them to capitalize on presidential-year turnout and GOP Rep. Chris Gibson finally being off the ballot .  

As he seeks his party’s nod in New York’s open 19th District, Republican John Faso is getting a little help from his friends in Washington.  

On Tuesday, three weeks after Faso launched his campaign, he is scheduled to be in the District of Columbia for a major fundraiser that will feature eight Republicans from the Empire State's congressional delegation as "special guests," according to an invitation obtained by CQ Roll Call.

Colleen Deacon, a New York-based aide for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., until a month ago, has entered the Democratic primary to challenge Republican Rep. John Katko in New York’s competitive 24th District.  

On Thursday, Deacon filed her paperwork with the Federal Election Commission — joining Syracuse University Professor Eric Kingson who launched his own campaign this summer for the party's nomination.  “I have seen — up close and personal — how the issues in front of Congress affect real people’s lives, and I want to be a real voice for Central New York,” Deacon said in a statement posted on her website.  

Updated August 4 11:05 a.m. | The Democrat who challenges GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin in New York’s 1st District will face a close race. But the eventual nominee will have a primary shaping up to be just as competitive, political handicappers say.  

The only two declared candidates for the Democratic nomination are Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst and former federal prosecutor and venture capitalist David Calone. They are locked in a tight race, with each candidate drawing on different bases of support in the Long Island district, and both having raised close to a half million dollars so far.  

Democrat Sean Eldridge, who failed to unseat Rep. Chris Gibson in 2014, told Vanity Fair that he will not mount another bid to represent New York's 19th District.  

The district, which President Barack Obama carried twice, is a top Democratic target, and with Gibson retiring  at the end of this term, and Hillary Rodham Clinton likely topping the ticket, Democrats are looking at the open seat as one of their best pickup opportunities. The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report/Roll Call rates the race as Tossup.  

Rep. Timothy H. Bishop's re-election has once again surged to the top of the cycle's list of most competitive House races, and Republicans are more optimistic than ever they can defeat the battle-tested New York Democrat.  

This cycle features a rematch between Bishop and his 2008 opponent, state Sen. Lee Zeldin, the GOP nominee. Strategists have said internal polling shows the race in a dead heat, and this week, the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call changed the rating of the race to Tossup .