Cait Conley wins Democratic primary to take on Republican Congressman Mike Lawler in New York

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Published - June 24, 2026 08:27 am IST - WASHINGTON Cait Conley defeated Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson and three other Democrats. Credit: X@CaitforNewYork Cait Conley, a U.S. Army veteran and national security expert, won the Democratic nomination on Tuesday (June 23, 2026) to take on U.S. Representative Mike Lawler, a New York Republican seen as one of the most vulnerable House members heading into November’s midterm elections, according to U.S. media projections. The two-term congressman represents New York’s 17th District, which stretches from the New York City suburbs in Westchester County to the Lower Hudson Valley. Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, narrowly won the district in 2024, making it a top pickup opportunity for Democrats, who need to gain a net three seats in the midterm elections to win control of the House of Representatives for the final two years of Donald Trump’s presidency. Ms. Conley defeated Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson and three other Democrats. Ms. Conley outraised Ms. Davidson by more than $1 million, reported twice as much cash on hand and led in a pair of recent polls. While Mr. Lawler is running in an unfavorable environment for Republicans nationally, he has a strong track record of winning tough races. He ousted Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, the chair of House Democrats’ campaign arm, in 2022 and defeated former Representative Mondaire Jones in 2024. Mr. Lawler considered running for governor this election cycle but announced last July that he would seek reelection instead, telling Fox News that it was critical for Republicans to hold the House. Ms. Harris won Lawler’s district by 0.6 percentage point in 2024. Mr. Lawler defeated Jones that year by more than 6 percentage points. The incumbent Republican has raised $7.4 million, more than double Ms. Conley’s $3.3 million. Mr. Lawler also has more cash on hand with $4.4 million as of June 3 to Conley’s $941,000. Ms. Conley is a West Point graduate and combat veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. She later served as the counterterrorism director on the White House National Security Council and helped secure elections at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. She is part of a group chat of female veterans running for Congress known as the “Hell Cats.” One, Navy veteran Rebecca Bennett, won her Democratic primary for a battleground New Jersey seat on June 2. The other two are running in States whose primaries have not yet been held. New York Democrats are also defending as many as three seats that could be competitive in November. U.S. Representatives Tom Suozzi, Laura Gillen and Josh Riley all represent battleground districts. Mr. Riley will face State Senator Peter Oberacker, Ms. Gillen will run against Hempstead Town Tax Receiver Jeanine Driscoll or retired Air Force veteran Marvin Williams, and Mt. Suozzi’s opponent will be former Assemblyman Mike LiPetri or personal injury lawyer Gregory Hach. Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Cait Conley wins Democratic primary to take on Republican Congressman Mike Lawler in New York

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Cait Conley wins Democratic primary to take on Republican Congressman Mike Lawler in New York

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