News12 hosted the first debate between New York 17th Congressional candidates, Democrat Cait Conley and Republican incumbent Mike Lawler on Monday. Lower Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Elias Guerra was in the district and spoke to folks at two very different watch parties.
As Democrats and Republicans vie for control of the House of Representatives during this year's midterms, the New York 17th Congressional District could be a key race.
Lawler recently told WAMC he stands by his support for Medicaid cuts that came as part of the Republican-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed in 2025.
Jackie Drexler of Valley Cottage: "I was at the watch party here for Cait Conley in Nanuet at the Democratic headquarters, and it was a very interesting debate because in some respects they both agree about some things.
In other respects, I feel that Cait actually has some great expertise that will come to bear about national security. Congressman Lawler can be bipartisan. Absolutely, he's worked to help save the Hudson River from radiation.
However, he has voted many, many times on things that please Trump, and even though he has stood up to Trump occasionally, his votes have harmed Rockland County tremendously. And we know in January the things that are going to happen to people who are on Medicaid, that they're going to start hitting. They're already starting to hit."
Eva Lavi, intern for Lawler's campaign: "My mom was a Russian immigrant. She came to this country at like 35-years-old. She has also lived in Israel for a while. I think seeing all of these debates about immigration safety, I totally agree with the congressman that we do need stricter immigration laws.
I think it's crazy to have people that don't come here legally, live here for that long. My mom worked very hard to get a green card, so the fact that I see the congressman fighting for that and the immigration safety, but also fighting against his party and making sure that the ICE agents are going out safely and not abusing their power. Again, with his bipartisanship on both sides, I think is really important. So, I really like everything that he's doing with it."
Andrew Stewart of Nyack: "I do think our government needs to do better in a lot of ways. It's not just about reversing what Trump has done. He's done so much wrong. It's easy to point to those things, but we also need to be a country that that can that can do better, like helping people get good jobs and have a middle-class existence.
I think that's been slipping probably since the 1970s or so. It's been harder and harder. It used to be generations always thought they were going to be more wealthy than their parents, and I think that that basic logic has shifted in the last generation or so. And I think we need to somehow figure out how to have like an industrial policy, how to do better with developing our workforce and give people opportunity in this country.
