In a closely watched race, a Republican who grappled with recent controversy bested a Democrat challenger who represented the same district from 2021 to 2023.
On a night full of highly competitive and closely watched House races in New York state, incumbent Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) successfully defended his District 17 seat against his challenger, Democrat and former Rep. Mondaire Jones.
The upstate District 17 encompasses a large swath of Westchester County and Hudson Valley, in between the Democrat strongholds of Albany and New York City.
At the end of the night, Lawler had secured 52.5 percent of the vote, or 191,681 votes, compared to 45.5 percent, or 166,331, for Jones.
Jones, who held the House of Representatives seat for the same district from 2021 to 2023, took a number of controversial positions during that time in Congress, including seeking to have former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani disbarred for alleged involvement in the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and writing a Washington Post opinion piece claiming that “a far-right majority” on the U.S. Supreme Court had “enabled white supremacists to circumvent the Voting Rights Act,” necessitating radical measures in response.
Lawler not only ran in a district adjacent to blue cities in a deep blue state—New York gave Vice President Kamala Harris 55.8 percent of its votes on election night—he also had to try to minimize fallout in October when news stories appeared containing photos of him in blackface as a Michael Jackson impersonator. The photos had been taken in 2006, when Lawler, then 20 years old, attended a party as a college undergraduate.
After the photos came to light, Lawler apologized, acknowledged that people might take offense at his having used blackface, and said that his youthful antics were not something he would ever contemplate doing as an adult. He also described himself as an earnest Michael Jackson fan and lover of Jackson’s music whose intent was to celebrate, not mock, his idol.
“For me, there was no ill intent, there was no effort to malign or disparage or make fun of black Americans. It was really an effort to pay homage to somebody who was a musical idol,” Lawler told a CNN interviewer.
There was much national attention on the District 17 contest and other races in upstate New York and on Long Island, partly because the current balance of power in the House of Representatives is so narrow, with 220 Republicans and 212 Democrats.
With the victory of Lawler and other Republicans in the state and around the country, the GOP has a chance of retaining a majority in the House, though counting of votes is still underway in many districts and full results will take time to compile.
The state offered mixed results for Republican incumbents and challengers. In the First Congressional District, which includes a broad swath of eastern Long Island, Republican Rep. Nick LaLota successfully fought off a challenge from John Avlon, a Democrat who had written speeches for former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
In the Third Congressional District, encompassing much of Nassau County, the incumbent victory was that of a Democrat, Rep. Tom Suozzi, over his Republican challenger, Mike LiPetri. In the House race for the Fourth Congressional District, Democrats scored another win as challenger Laura Gillen defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito.
In another closely watched race, in New York’s upstate 19th District, Democrat Josh Riley unseated Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro, after running unsuccessfully against Molinaro for the same seat in 2022.
And in the upstate 22nd District, another flip occurred as Democrat challenger John Mannion defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Brandon Williams.