Last night, after earlier in the day announcing he would be running for re-election to Congress instead of running for governor of New York, Rep. Mike Lawler released an email fundraising effort in which he continued his attacks on Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Lawler, a Republican who represents New York’s 17th Congressional District, initially made his announcement that he would be running to hold onto his seat in Congress on the TV show “Fox and Friends.”
Lawler said he believes that the Republicans have an opportunity to oust Hochul and flip New York to their column, but did not identify a candidate who he thought could do it. He said that over the past six months he had given considerable thought as to how he could best serve New York, whether that would be in Washington or in Albany. He said that while he felt he was best positioned to take on Hochul, he decided he needs to stay in Washington.
In his fundraising email, Lawler said, “When I initially won this district in 2022, I only won by 1,820 votes – flipping this seat from blue to red. When I won again in 2024, I won with 23,946 votes. Now, with President Trump and Republicans hanging on to the House Majority by a thread – I simply can’t allow this district to be returned to the Democrats – there’s too much at stake. With Republicans controlling both the Executive and the Legislative Branches, we’ve been able to achieve unprecedented good work for the American people.”
In an internet post responding to Lawler, Hochul said, “This is the same Mike Lawler who caved to Trump the minute he asked to rip away New Yorkers’ health care. Of course he doesn’t have the spine to face me.”
The Washington Post and The Hill both reported that Lawler’s bowing out of the governor’s contest paves the way for Rep. Elise Stefanik who represents New York’s 21st Congressional District to go after the Republican nomination in an open field.
