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Former New York gubernatorial candidate and Fordham University law professor Zephyr Teachout announced her candidacy Monday for New York's 19th Congressional District.  

The Democrat enjoys progressive support, but she may still be dogged by "carpetbagging" attacks in this rural Hudson Valley district.  

Democrats are optimistic that a Donald Trump or Texas Sen. Ted Cruz nomination will expand the map in their favor. But because of how long the GOP nominating contest could take, and how early some congressional filing deadlines are, Democrats may need to take a leap of faith on candidates before they know whether the GOP nominee will put certain states in play.  

"I’m telling potential candidates, 'There’s a chance that our party is going to win the lottery. ... It might be worth rolling the dice because it turns out the Democratic nominee in some of these states that are not competitive right now may be worth a lot,'" one Democratic consultant said.  

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.

Republican John Faso launched his campaign for Congress in New York’s 19th District on Tuesday –  joining Andrew Heaney in an upstate primary race that precedes what could be a close election to replace outgoing Rep. Chris Gibson.  

In recent years, Faso, a former Republican leader in the New York State Assembly from Kinderhook, has only served as a political donor, avoiding electoral politics, himself, since his 2006 loss to Democrat Eliot Spitzer in the governor’s race. But Faso – now a partner at the law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips – began exploring a run in July, and this week made it official. While announcing his campaign, he praised Gibson, who he helped elect to Congress in 2010, but pushed an outsider message – saying “at every turn, Washington is making it hard for families and job creators.”  

The heart of summer may have passed, but the temperature in New York's 19th District is only starting to warm up.  

Democrats see it as a top-tier pickup opportunity, a rare open-seat House race in a tossup district that President Barack Obama won twice. The GOP is gearing up to defend it in a presidential election year that could include former Empire State Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton at the top of the ticket. For now, most of the action is taking place behind the scenes.  

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. Chris Gibson, R-N.Y., will announce his retirement Tuesday, according to two GOP sources.  

The Republican, who was re-elected to a third term in November, will open a competitive seat in 2016 with his departure following this Congress. President Barack Obama carried the district with 52 percent, making it a must-win for House Democrats if they want to put a dent in the GOP's historic majority this cycle.  Last year, Gibson annihilated venture capitalist Sean Eldridge, the Democratic nominee with deep pockets, by nearly 30 points.  

All's fair in love and ... House races? Not so much.  

Less than three weeks before Election Day, would-be safe incumbents such as Reps. Lee Terry, R-Neb., and Brad Schneider, D-Ill., are scrambling to win in partisan districts — while these 10 members are headed for victory in otherwise competitive districts.  

Meet the cycle’s biggest candidate disappointments.  

They are the congressional hopefuls who just didn't live up to their hype. Once touted as top recruits, these House and Senate candidates are headed for defeat on Election Day in all likelihood. Some of these candidates tanked so early in the cycle, their races never got off the ground.