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Washington — Democrat Cait Conley defeated two-term Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, winning a highly competitive seat in New York’s Hudson Valley region, CBS News projected.
Lawler’s loss is another setback for Republicans. CBS News has projected that Democrats will take control of the House in January with a wide majority.
Lawler called Conley to concede Tuesday, though vote-counting continued for longer than expected due to issues at polling precincts in Westchester County.
“I have never been afforded in any of my elections a concession on election night and I fundamentally believe it’s the right thing to do,” he said. “And so I congratulate Cait on her win and wish her well as our next member of Congress.”
Before redistricting shuffled the boundaries in several states for the 2026 election, Lawler was one of just three Republicans who won districts carried by Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in 2024.
A West Point graduate, Conley served six tours overseas before joining the National Security Council and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency during the Biden administration. Though she grew up in a neighboring area, she moved to the 17th District months before announcing her campaign.
In their Sept. 30 debate, Conley said she supports continued military aid to Israel and did not believe that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide — positions at odds with many in her party, but which could be crucial given the district’s demographics.
Lawler has held the lower Hudson Valley seat since 2023 after narrowly ousting Democratic incumbent Sean Patrick Maloney, who served as House Democrats’ campaign chief. In 2025, Lawler considered running for New York governor, but opted to run for a third term as Republicans sought to hang on to the crucial battleground seat.
Lawler has cast himself as a moderate who has been willing to buck his party, including on immigration protections for Haitians and on extending the now-expired enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits. Lawler also played a central role in securing a temporary increase to the cap on state and local tax deductions — a bipartisan issue on the East and West coasts — as part of President Trump’s sweeping tax and spending package, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
In the recent debate, Lawler tried to appeal to voters on both sides, claiming that he ranks “among the most bipartisan and effective members of Congress.”
But Lawler has also embraced Mr. Trump, campaigning with him in May even as he risked alienating swing voters who are pessimistic about the president’s handling of the economy and Iran war.
