REGION — The race for the New York 19th Congressional District seat, which is currently held by Republican Chris Gibson, will be one of the more closely watched races in the country. The district, which includes parts or all of 11 counties, including all of Sullivan and Ulster, is considered one of just a handful that is truly competitive and could go to either a Republican or Democratic candidate.

The Democrat chosen by primary voters is Zephyr Teachout, who surprised most analysts in the last race for governor by mounting an especially competitive primary campaign against Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Then as now, much of the Democratic establishment backed Teachout’s opponent. This time around, she outpolled farmer and Town of Livingston Deputy Supervisor Will Yandic by a five-to-one margin in some places. In Sullivan County, where the county Democratic committee did not endorse either candidate, Teachout bested Yandic by a vote of 972 to 203.

In the Republican race, John Faso, a former minority leader in the state assembly who ran unsuccessfully for governor against Gov. Elliot Spitzer in 2006, handily beat businessman Andrew Heaney, but with a smaller margin. In Sullivan County the vote was 789 to 299.

Faso and Teachout have markedly different priorities and political bases. In Teachout’s victory speech she said, “John Faso is an Albany assemblyman turned lobbyist. He is the ultimate insider.”

In his victory speech Faso said, “This election will be about small-town America fighting back against the bureaucrats and the self-proclaimed liberal elite progressives, who want to guide our lives and want to control every aspect of our society and the private sector.”

The issues highlighted on Teachout’s website include “Campaign Finance & Corruption,” “Protecting Public Education,” “Fighting for Renewable Energy,” “Small Business and Innovation,” “Creating Local Jobs” and “Public Safety.”

The issues highlighted on Faso’s website include, “Fighting for Our Returning Veterans,” “Fighting for Your [gun] Rights” “Rein in Washington” “Jobs and Growth for Upstate,” “National Security,” “Affordable Higher Education,” and “Heroin.”

On healthcare, Teachout has said she supports the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, although she has also said that healthcare costs need to be brought down, and in the past she has expressed support for a single payer system.

Faso, on the other hand, has expressed the view that Obamacare should be repealed, and replaced with some other system. He has said he supports legislation that would allow for health savings accounts that would permit consumers to pay for healthcare needs with “pre-tax dollars.”