New York Republican Mike Lawler Secures Reelection Bid

Freshman Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York defeated his Democratic opponent, former New York Rep. Mondaire Jones, to win reelection in the state’s 17th Congressional District Tuesday night.

Lawler routed Jones by roughly 13 percentage points with 77% of votes counted as of 2:11 a.m. EST, according to a projection from Decision Desk HQ. The AP announced the Republican incumbent as the projected winner at 5:30 a.m. EST.

Lawler declared victory on Twitter at 11:56 p.m. EST. “What an absolute ass-kicking,” Lawler said to a crowd of his supporters. “The Hudson Valley told Mondaire Jones to beat it.”

Lawler’s victory is positive news for House Republicans who were depending on the Republican incumbent to hold his seat in order to help maintain the party’s slim majority in the House.

Lawler’s reelection ended a bitter House contest during which Jones labeled Lawler a “fascist” and Lawler, in return, dubbed Jones a “socialist.”

Lawler and Jones battled to obtain the support of the more than 30,000 Orthodox Jewish voters in this Hudson Valley district, which both campaigns saw as a critical constituency to win over. Lawler’s condemnation of anti-Israel protests at Columbia University over the past year and support for Israel in the country’s war against Hamas likely paid dividends with this cohort of voters.

The Cook Political Report changed the rating from “toss-up” to “lean Republican” on Oct. 25.

Other New York freshmen Republican incumbents are projected to lose to their Democratic challengers, potentially jeopardizing Republicans’ quest to preserve House control.

Democratic challenger John Mannion defeated New York Rep. Brandon Williams, according to an AP projection announced at 11:15 pm on Tuesday. Roll Call designated Williams as the most vulnerable member of the House running for reelection prior to the election due to redistricting changes that made the Republican incumbent’s central New York district more Democratic.

Democratic candidate Josh Riley bested New York Rep. Marc Molinaro by roughly a four point margin, according to an AP projection declared at 1:17 a.m. EST. Democratic candidate Josh Riley outraisedMolinaro by more than $3 million.

Republican New York Rep. Anthony D’Esposito is behind his Democratic opponent Laura Gillen by 0.2 percentage points with more than 95% of votes counted. The race has not been called.

Gillen declared victory on X at 12:08 a.m. EST. “In this campaign, the voters of this district chose common sense over chaos and corruption. It is the honor of my lifetime to be the next Congresswoman from the Fourth Congressional District,” Gillen’s tweet stated.

D’Esposito’s reelection was seen as a longshot due to New York’s 4th District being the most pro-Biden seat in the country held by a Republican running for reelection. Biden beat former President Donald Trump by more than 14 points there in 2020.

House control may depend on the outcomes of several battleground races in California whose results are not expected until later this week.

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