“Cait! Cait! Cait! Cait!” cried a crowd under blue and red lights at Travelers Rest in Ossining Tuesday night.
They were celebrating Democrat Cait Conley's victory in a crowded Democratic primary in New York's 17th Congressional District. She declared victory roughly an hour after polls closed Tuesday night, with unofficial results indicating she had received more than 48% of the votes cast.
The primary field included five Democrats in total. Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson came in second with 31% of the vote, and progressive Effie Phillips-Staley earned more than 15%, according to unofficial results.
Conley, a former White House counterterrorism official and Army officer, will now face incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler in November in a campaign that’s likely to receive national attention as Democrats look to flip control of Congress.
Andrea Furey was in Ossining Tuesday night supporting Conley. She said she likes Conley’s record of service in Army Special Operations and her chances to beat Lawler.
“One of the things I really appreciate about Cait is her pragmatism, because I hear a lot of candidates talking about things like Medicare For All, which is great," Furey said. "As my daughter said, ‘it's just so 2016.’ She's like a real progressive. But right now, we really have to focus on what can be done right now to provide relief to the people who have really been harmed by [the] Trump [administration].”
Mark Davis said he used to work at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and said Conley’s record there is very impressive, and that she finished at the top of her class. He said she can appeal to all service members in NY-17.
“People are skeptical of her because she was unaffiliated for so long, but there's a lot of people who serve the country in the military who are unaffiliated. And I know a lot of the people who work there might not seem like typical Democrats, but this district is only 40% Democrat, and there's actually more independents than Republicans," Davis said. "So, I love my brothers and sisters who support Effie, but I don't buy the argument that a more progressive candidate than [former U.S. Rep.] Mondaire [Jones] would be more successful.”
Putnam County Democratic Committee Chair Jen Colamonico said Conley really showed up in all the towns of Putnam County. She said most Democrats in Putnam want Lawler out.
“I've had many Democrats that almost don't even care who wins, as long as Lawler loses," Colamonico said. "Like, whoever is going to beat him, because the flipping of the House is really the most important thing. Because people in Putnam are suffering under gas tax prices, grocery prices, the impact of tariffs.
"Listen, a lot of people in Putnam voted for Trump, and they're paying the price. And Mike Lawler lied to us. He tried to paint himself as a moderate, [but] he voted for that bill. He voted to cut Medicaid after he promised he wouldn't.”
Conley’s mother, Linda Blitz, said her daughter is doing great.
“Social media isn't always the friendliest, but I know who she is. She knows who she is, and she'd do a wonderful job,” Blitz said.
By 10 p.m., an hour after the polls closed, the Associated Press had declared Conley the winner.
When Conley took the stage in Ossining, she emphasized reaching across party lines. But, she also railed against Lawler, calling out his support of what she called the “Big Ugly Bill,” which will make historic cuts to Medicaid. And she said Lawler voted eight times to protect Trump’s “illegal, reckless tariffs.”
“This is a guy who was getting rich as a political operative, while I was serving in combat; voting without hesitation to send our troops into harm's way, despite the clear incompetence of Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump, and the rest of this administration," Conley said. "And now we are the ones literally paying the price for their incompetence, from higher gas prices and grocery prices to the loss of American service members overseas. At the end of the day, no matter what he tries to say, Mike Lawler only votes one way, Donald Trump's way.”
Lawler hit back at Conley on Wednesday morning, saying he was challenging her to six debates. He said she had not lived in the district or paid taxes there for 20 years. He called her “the establishment's hand-picked candidate” and said he would “systematically dismantle her.”
Back in Ossining, Conley shouted out the other Democratic candidates, “Steel sharpens steel, right? They fought to make sure that New York 17 has the leadership that we deserve.”
When asked about Medicaid, she said restoring it is a priority for her, saying, “Healthcare should be a right for all, not just a privilege for the wealthy few.”
She also spoke about the struggles of working families, but didn’t put all the blame on Trump.
“So many families are struggling here and have been for years. And that happened before Donald Trump came to office," Conley said. "Focusing on the very real struggles that working families are having, how do we address those and make sure America's best days are still ahead of us?”
