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To: Interested Parties
From: Riya Vashi, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: June 23, 2026
Subject: The Case Against Mike Lawler
Despite consistently being ranked one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the country, Mike Lawler has put Donald Trump and his extreme agenda over the New Yorkers he promised to represent. While he talks a moderate game during his constant cable TV hits, Lawler has voted for Trump’s entire legislative agenda, breaking promise after promise to his constituents the second his DC party bosses come calling.
Mike Lawler has turned public service into his personal payday every chance he gets. Long before his days in Congress, Lawler built his career as a corporate lobbyist, political consultant, and party boss, blurring all three roles into one lucrative operation that funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars into a firm he co-founded. In Washington, he has kept the act going, calling himself a bipartisan dealmaker on cable television while rubberstamping a Trump agenda that rips health care away from his constituents, raises their costs, and pads the pockets of billionaires. No matter how much smooth-talking Lawler does on national TV, he cannot cover up the fact that he has only ever worked for himself.
Cait Conley is the real independent leader Hudson Valley voters are looking for. A fourth-generation Hudson Valley native from a working-class family, Cait started her application to West Point the day after 9/11. She became the first in her family to graduate college and served 16 years as a decorated Army officer, deploying to combat zones six times, breaking barriers as one of the first women in Special Ops leadership, and earning three Bronze Stars before coming home to protect America’s national security and elections. Cait is not a career politician or a political operative. She is a fighter who has spent her life serving others, and she is running to lower costs and stop the pay-to-play politics that Mike Lawler embodies.
The choice could not be clearer. Vice President Harris won this district in 2024, and both Cook Political Report and Inside Elections shifted this race in Democrats’ direction to “toss-up” just months after New York’s massive Democratic surge during the 2025 elections. In an environment clearly favoring Democrats, Hudson Valley families are ready to fire their media-obsessed and in-it-for-himself congressman and replace him with a fighter they can finally trust to deliver real results.
MAGA Lapdog Mike Lawler Is a Trump Rubberstamp Who Puts His Devastating Agenda Over The Hudson Valley
Mike Lawler desperately wants Hudson Valley voters to believe he is a moderate, but his voting record tells a drastically different story. Lawler has been by Donald Trump’s side since 2016, when he served as a Republican National Convention delegate for his campaign and “worked for the Trump political operation” as executive director of the New York State Republican Committee. Now that Lawler is in D.C., he has a perfect record of caving to his MAGA party bosses, voting in lockstep with Donald Trump 100% of the time and rubber-stamping every single extreme economic policy the White House has pushed. From the Big, Ugly Bill that enacted the largest cuts to Medicaid in history and slashed critical food assistance, to the Rescissions Act that gutted America’s public broadcasting and threatened programs like NPR and PBS, Lawler has betrayed his own constituents to advance Trump’s disastrous agenda time and time again.
On the campaign trail, Lawler has regularly partnered with far-right politicians who support eliminating the Affordable Care Act, enacting a nationwide abortion ban, and promoting election denialism and anti-vaccine conspiracy theories. From Ted Cruz and Jim Jordan to Elise Stefanik and Mike Johnson, Lawler has brought some of the most extreme MAGA loyalists in the country back to New York’s 17th District. Last month, Lawler even rolled out the red carpet for Trump himself, beaming on stage at a joint rally where Trump praised him as “fantastic.” As one local reporter put it, after years of pretending to sit on the fence, Lawler has jumped feet-first into Trump territory.
That blind loyalty has resulted in less cash in Hudson Valley families’ wallets. Lawler voted eight separate times to protect Trump’s reckless tariffs, one of the largest tax increases in American history that’s estimated to cost the average American household an extra $2,500 this year. Small business owners across the district watched their inventory vanish and their margins shrink thanks to the chaos he keeps voting to continue. Lawler is also a staunch supporter of Trump’s war of choice in Iran, calling it a “righteous decision” and arguing that the resulting price spike was “absolutely worth it.” Even as the war cost New York families an estimated $750 more per household in gas and energy, Lawler stood by as Trump’s own Treasury Secretary dismissed their pain at the pump as a “blip.” Just two years ago, Lawler declared in a 2024 campaign ad that “housing, car payments, gas, the cost of everything has gone through the roof.” Now he’s voting to drive those costs even higher while bragging about it on national television.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer. Mike Lawler answers to and campaigns with Donald Trump. Cait has spent her life answering the call to serve her country and the Hudson Valley, and that is exactly who she will fight for in Congress.
Lawler Is a Shady Political Operative Who Has Built His Entire Career on Self-Dealing and Cashing In
Mike Lawler has never had a job that wasn’t about enriching himself or his party. Before his days in Congress, Lawler honed his skills as a lobbyist, political consultant, and party boss, conveniently blurring the lines between all three roles in order to financially benefit one person: himself. A recent Politico investigation revealed the full extent of Lawler’s self-dealing, detailing how he used a “complex and lucrative web” of nonprofits, lobbying groups, and party committees to funnel more than $720,000 to Checkmate Strategies, the political consulting firm he co-founded. Lawler’s own congressional campaign alone paid Checkmate over half a million dollars, a remarkable amount of self-enrichment from a man who declared in 2016 that “no one should profit from serving in public office.”
But Lawler’s self-dealing runs even deeper. He served as a director of two organizations, New Yorkers For Affordable Energy and 17 Forward 86, that together paid Lawler and his firm almost $200,000 to lobby on their behalf while he was a director at the organizations. At New Yorkers For Affordable Energy, Lawler was somehow the bookkeeper, the Executive Director, and the paid lobbyist all at once, an arrangement practically designed to line his own pockets. This is not a public servant. This is a political operator who turned every position he’s ever held into a personal piggy bank.
Mike Lawler lives large off his corporate donors’ checks. Critics have dubbed him “Limousine Lawler” after financial filings revealed his campaign blew more than $150,000 on limousines, private boat charters, five-star hotels, celebrity restaurants, and ritzy resorts. As recently as last month, he was still at it.
Cait Conley built her career running toward danger to protect her community. While Lawler was lobbying and serving as a political hack, Cait Conley was deployed overseas fighting to keep Americans safe. That contrast is exactly why Cait is running: to end the cynical politics of self-dealing and finally give NY-17 a representative who works for them, not himself.
Lawler Broke His Promises to NY-17, Lied About It, and Left His Constituents Furious
Last year, Mike Lawler looked Hudson Valley families in the eye, promised again and again he would never cut Medicaid, then voted twice for the largest Medicaid cuts in American history. He tried to wave it all away as “not a major cut,” redefined the word “cut” entirely, and even falsely claimed his Big, Ugly Bill would “protect critical services like Medicaid.” When local hospitals warned his vote would devastate them, Lawler accused them of “parroting the same talking points put out by the state and by the hospital associations,” prompting MSNOW to ask whether Lawler really knew hospital administrators’ business “better than they know their own business.”
Although Lawler will never admit to this, his vote for the Big, Ugly Bill is projected to slash more than $100 million in hospital revenue across NY-17, kick nearly 35,000 of his own constituents off Medicaid, cost more than 1,400 local hospital workers their jobs, and put food assistance at risk for nearly 20,000 households in his district. But Lawler’s constituents have made their fury impossible to ignore. In March, 3,000 New Yorkers protested and called him a “liar” for breaking his Medicaid promise. In May, a Lawler voter called his vote “very disappointing.” In June, community leaders blasted him for “vot[ing] twice to gut the lifeline that holds our hospitals together.” At town hall after town hall, Lawler was “pelted with boos” and “drowned by jeers” as furious NY-17 voters grilled him for his blind loyalty to Donald Trump. When food pantry leaders pleaded with Lawler to save SNAP, he ignored them. When he lied to New Yorkers that his bill would save them money, he got booed.
Lawler also failed to extend the ACA tax credits before they expired, driving up health insurance costs for more than 11,000 NY-17 residents on marketplace plans. Lawler voted to cut the very IRA energy tax credits he signed letters claiming to protect, and stood by as more than $26 million was slashed from his district, including a nearly $20 million research project at IBM’s headquarters that he had toured for a photo op just months prior. Lawler talks endlessly about lowering costs, but at every turn, he votes to raise prices and hopes Hudson Valley families are not paying attention.
Mike Lawler made promises to NY-17, but broke every one the moment his party bosses asked. Hudson Valley families do not need another politician who looks out for himself and his party. They need a proven fighter like Cait Conley, who will always put them first.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Politico: Overlapping payments reveal Rep. Mike Lawler’s deep history as a political operative [Politico, 5/6/26]
“Before his time in the House, Lawler honed his skills as an operative working as a lobbyist, political consultant and party boss. But the lines between the three roles often blurred together — a reality that now poses a political liability as Democrats eye his suburban congressional seat as a prime pickup opportunity this year.”
New York Times: Already Facing a Challenge, a Republican Is Accused of Self-Dealing [New York Times, 5/11/26]
“Several entities tied to Representative Mike Lawler, New York’s most endangered House Republican, paid a political consulting firm he once owned, raising ethics concerns. […] Mr. Lawler, 39, sold his stake in the company in 2023, but not before Checkmate Strategies was paid more than $720,000 by entities connected to him.”
Courier New York: As Trump campaigns with Lawler, his district pays the price for tariffs [Courier New York, 5/26/26]
Daily Mail: The ‘lavish’ life of ‘Limousine Lawler’: New York congressman blew $150k in campaign funds on limos, Ritz-Carlton stays, private boat charters and steakhouse dinners [Daily Mail, 3/21/26]
The Examiner News: Lawler Faces Scrutiny as Medicaid Cuts Threaten Local Hospitals [The Examiner News, 9/17/25]
Politico: Lawler’s campaigns paid his former firm over $500K [Politico, 10/29/25]
NBC News: Trump praises vulnerable GOP Rep. Mike Lawler as ‘fantastic’ during a joint rally in New York [NBC News, 5/22/26]
American Journal News: Is Mike Lawler a moderate? Two separate studies say no. [American Journal News, 3/4/26]
“Two new studies suggest that New York Rep. Mike Lawler supported President Donald Trump’s agenda 100% of the time last year, a record that could undermine his claims of bipartisanship.
“Lawler’s perfect score includes supporting controversial legislation, such as the Rescissions Act, which cut federal funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is projected to kick 7.8 million people off Medicaid by 2034.”
The Hudson Independent: At His Rockland Rally, Lawler Jumps Off The Fence Into Trump Territory [The Hudson Independent, 5/23/26]
Gothamist: Rep. Lawler says Trump’s big bill will save NYers money. He got booed for it. [Gothamist, 8/1/25]
NOTUS: Republicans Don’t Want to Talk About Gas Prices Anymore [NOTUS, 5/11/26]
“Rep. Mike Lawler, a New York Republican facing a tough reelection race, had declared in a 2024 campaign ad that “housing, car payments, gas — the cost of everything has gone through the roof.” By January 2026, he was writing op-eds crediting Washington with bringing gas prices down. When CNN asked him in March whether higher prices were worth the Iran war, he said they were ‘absolutely worth it.’”
American Journal News: Mike Lawler’s ‘moderate’ brand collides with his far-right alliances [American Journal News, 11/26/25]
The Bulwark: GOP ‘Moderates’ Lied Their Way Through Cutting Medicaid [The Bulwark, 5/22/25]
“Republicans who pledged not to cut Medicaid, such as Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), happily explained it away by redefining the word “cut.” In an interview, Lawler claimed the bill will actually ‘protect critical services like Medicaid.’”
Politico: Meet the Republicans who killed solar subsidies — after using them [Politico, 11/20/25]
LoHud: Food pantry leaders plead with Lawler to save SNAP, other programs to fight hunger [LoHud, 7/1/25]
New York Magazine: The 25 Young(ish) New Democrats to Watch [New York Magazine, 11/3/25]
“Though she is running on her military bona fides and record of public service, the focus of Conley’s campaign is the affordability crisis in the lower Hudson Valley. She’s championing renewable energy as a way to boost construction jobs and decrease utility bills. “My mom bought a home and raised three daughters working for the U.S. Postal Service in the Hudson Valley. That is not possible today, and that is a sign of us failing,” says Conley, whose family has deep blue-collar roots in the area.”
The 19th News: Meet the Hell Cats — a key to Democrats’ hopes of taking the House [The 19th News, 2/11/26]
Washington Post: The Democratic veterans trying to repeat 2018 [Washington Post, 11/17/25]
PATH TO VICTORY
Mike Lawler consistently ranks as one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the country and, this year, New York’s 17th Congressional District is primed to flip to Democrats. The seat was one of only three in the country to split its ticket for Kamala Harris and a Republican in Congress in 2024, and Senator Gillibrand won the Senate race here by an even wider margin.
In a highly college-educated, suburban district full of ticket-splitters, Cait Conley’s record as a decorated combat veteran, counterterrorism official, and working-class daughter of the Hudson Valley is perfectly-suited to win back the voters who have backed Democrats at the top of the ticket but given Lawler a pass — including the Hispanic and Latino voters who make up the district’s largest non-white community. National observers have taken note, with both Cook Political Report and Inside Elections shifting this race toward Democrats and rating it a true toss-up.
Cait Conley spent her life serving her country and her community. Mike Lawler spent his rubber-stamping Trump’s toxic agenda, breaking his promises to the district, and cashing in as a political operative. Hudson Valley families are ready to fire a media-obsessed Trump lapdog and send a fighter like Cait Conley to Congress this November. |
