Control of both chambers of Congress is on the line as Americans head to the polls today. Among the key House races in the headlines is New York's 17th congressional district in the Lower Hudson Valley.
After four decades of Democrats representing the district, Republican Mike Lawler won the seat in 2022 and retained it in 2024. He faces a challenge this year from Democrat Cait Conley.
Lower Hudson Valley bureau chief Elias Garra joined Ray Graf on Midday Magazine to break down the race.
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
Editor's note: This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
Graf: What can you tell us about these candidates?
Guerra: So, Lawler came into office in 2023, and he was previously a co-founder of a political consulting firm. And he has made his name Mr. SALT. That's how Donald Trump refers to him, and that is because he has successfully pushed for expanding the state and local tax deduction cap. He also welcomed Donald Trump to Rockland County earlier this summer, but he has framed himself as something of a more of a moderate Republican, and you know, has said that he has voted against Trump at times. And Cait Conley is the Democrat running against Mike Lawler. She is an Army combat veteran, and she has worked in defense technology industry for companies hidden level and primer, which Lawler and others have attacked her for. But by her own description, she said she's working on drone detecting technology and technology to keep people safe in public spaces from bombs and other threats, and she's running as something of a more moderate Democrat.
Graf: What have been some of the key issues in this race?
Guerra: So both candidates are talking about affordability. Conley spoke with WAMC yesterday, and she blamed Trump's tariffs for the cost of groceries and the war in Iran, she attacked Lawler for voting yes on the One Big Beautiful Bill, which made historic cuts, the largest cuts ever, to Medicaid. And Lawler has defended his vote in support of the One Big Beautiful Bill, saying that he was protecting Medicaid for the disabled, for seniors, for working mothers, and for children.
And another big issue that is top of mind is U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Conley has said that she wants to rein in ICE, and she said they need to behave more professionally. So she has suggested that they wear body cameras and not be allowed to wear masks. Lawler has also, you know, condemned the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by ICE, but he's kind of weighed that against the killing of a young woman in Westchester County, Sheridan Gorman, by a Venezuelan national, and he's also criticized the Local Cops, Local Crimes act, the state law which bans local law enforcement from working for ICE, saying that is making people less safe. And one of the issues that I've been following is the in the Haitian community in Rockland County in Spring Valley, it's home to one of the biggest Haitian communities in the country. Donald Trump cut temporary protected service for Haitians this year, and I recently spoke with a community organizer, Renold Julien, who runs Konbit Neg Lakay, and he described the effects of people losing work authorizations and losing TPS as you know it's a war zone in in their community. And I asked Conley about this, and she said in no uncertain terms, she blames Republicans for this choice. She pointed out that many healthcare workers are Haitian, and because of this, local healthcare is suffering. And Lawler has also said that he stands by the Haitian community and sent a letter to Donald Trump earlier this year asking not to cut TPS for Haitians, and obviously that was not successful.
Graf: And where are you going to be tonight? What are you expecting?
Guerra: I will be with Cait Conley tonight in Westchester County. I'll be keeping an eye on the polls. The polls right now are showing that it will be a very close race. It's also been a very expensive race. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said recently the whole race will cost about $60 million with both sides combined. Elon Musk has been spending exorbitant amounts of money through America PAC, his super PAC, and he spent somewhere around half a million dollars supporting Mike Lawler. So it does look like this is going to be a close race.
