Republican Rep. Mike Lawler Wednesday introduced he’ll skip the New York governor’s race and can as an alternative run for reelection in his Westchester County-based swing congressional district.
“After months of deliberating over this and really working through it, I’ve decided the right thing to do for me and my family and my district is to run for reelection,” Lawler mentioned.
The 2-term average Republican mentioned he needs to assist the GOP by operating to carry onto the suburban swing district, which is taken into account probably the most aggressive battlegrounds in all the nation.
“I’m proud to run for reelection on my record and win next November and keep the House Republican majority,” Lawler added.
Democrats mocked Lawler for taking flight of the governor’s race, with Hochul tweeting that he “doesn’t have the spine to face me.”
A crowded subject of Democrats has already lined up for the prospect to tackle Lawler, whose NY-17 district is one among simply three within the nation that elected a Republican to the Home however backed Kamala Harris over Trump.
The challengers embody Rockland County legislator Beth Davidson and Military veteran Cait Conley.
Lawler was a key vote to move Trump’s unpopular Large Stunning Invoice, which included draconian cuts to well being spending to fund outsized tax cuts for the wealthy.
He claimed a aspect win within the invoice by convincing Republicans to lift the cap on deducting SALT, or state and native taxes, to $40,000 from $10,000. Democrats say he welched on guarantees to eradicate it altogether.
Lawler burst onto the political scene by toppling ex-Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney within the 2022 midterms in a race that featured a spherical of inner Democratic bickering following a redistricting battle that modified the district considerably.
In 2024, he simply turned apart a comeback effort from Democratic ex-Rep. Mondaire Jones, who held the seat beforehand.
Lawler’s choice is a lift to the no-holds-barred effort by President Trump and his Republican allies to carry onto their slender Home majority within the forthcoming midterm elections. The GOP holds a 219-212 edge, with 4 vacancies, three of that are in strongly Democratic districts.
The get together in energy usually loses Home seats within the first midterm elections after a president takes workplace, which might recommend a grim prognosis for the GOP, particularly with Trump’s approval rankings dipping into the low 40% vary.
However Trump is pushing Republicans to unilaterally redraw congressional district strains in states they management, most notably Texas and Ohio, which might yield near 10 extra Republican seats. Democrats would possibly counter by doing the identical in blue states, doubtlessly even New York, though the method seems to be legally trickier for them.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-New York) might now be a frontrunner for the GOP gubernatorial main race. Republicans may even be eager to defend her far upstate district, nevertheless it ought to be a better carry because it voted for Trump by a margin of about 20 factors in 2024.
Initially Printed: July 23, 2025 at 9:22 AM EDT
