One of the most closely watched races is the one for District 17, which includes many Orthodox Jewish voters, as it covers Rockland County, Putnam County and parts of Westchester.
Debates between incumbent Republican Mike Lawler and Democratic challenger Mondaire Jones have been heated with Jones calling Lawler a “mini-fascist’ and Lawler referring to Jones as a socialist. The race is critical as it may tip the balance of control in the House of Representatives.
More than 200 gathered on October 31 to hear Lawler, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and others in New City, New York.
“This is a thrilling end to one of the most consequential elections in generations” Lawler told the crowd.
He said New York has had to pay billions of dollars to covers costs of illegal immigrants and said that “cashless bail will go down as the single stupidest piece of legislation that was ever enacted into law anywhere in the United States of America.”
He criticized Jones for proposing that convicted murderers be allowed to vote from prison and wanting to defund the police and that Jones’s positions are too radical for the Hudson Valley.
Lawler also criticized the vice president.
“Kamala Harris said when it comes to Israel, she’s open to an arms embargo,” Lawler said. “Kamala Harris said that we shouldn’t go into Rafah. Well guess what? If Israel listened to Kamala Harris, (Hamas leader Yahya) Sinwar would still be alive today…”
He said Jones, in one of their past debates, called for Jerusalem to be divided and Isreal to go back to pre-1967 borders is a potential deal with Palestinians.
“I don’t support that,” Lawler said.
At one point, the crowd cheered at one moment when it was announced that an IDF soldier was in the crowd.
He encouraged the crowd to vote for former President Donald Trump, saying that America’s borders were more secure, and the world was more peaceful during Trump’s tenure. He added that he wrote 10 bills, five of which were signed into law.
He got cheers from the crowd when announcing that his wife gave birth to their second daughter on October 28 and called his wife a “saint” for putting up with his intense schedule in which he is often away from home.
Johnson said Lawler is “an example for all of us” due to his work ethic and skill and noted the title of an article in Punchbowl that read: “Mike Lawler is defying gravity.”
Johnson said in order to “save America” the country needed a Republican majority in Congress and he predicted a Trump victory and Republicans taking back the Senate. He said the race was not simply a battle between Republicans and Democrats but rather “a battle between two completely different visions for who we are as a nation and who we’re going to be.”
Johnson showed some humor doing Lawler’s accent.
Johnson related that after a recent event in front of a Jewish organization, he asked Trump how he had the stamina to do so many events. He said Trump told him they had to leave everything out on the field because there was too much one the line.
“I believe G-d is not done with America yet,” Johnson said.
Monsey resident Paul Bindell was among more than 20 Orthodox Jews who came to the event.
“I think his speech was good and he articulated what needs to be said,” Bindell told The Jewish Press, adding that Lawler understands the threats that Israel is facing.
Jones, who grew up in a single mother household, graduated from Harvard Law School and served as the Congressman in the 17th from 2021-2023 succeeding Nita Lowey. Following redistricting, Jones opted not to run against fellow Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney, who would lose to Lawler. He moved to Brooklyn and ran a race in the 10th district which was won by Dan Goldman.
According to an article on salon.com, Jones, while speaking at the Westchester Black Women’s Political Caucus candidate forum, said he supported Israel and its battle against Hamas. Jones has criticized Lawler for supporting Trump, who Jones refers to as a “fascist.” He has said Lawler was wrong to not call out Trump for saying residents of Springfield, Ohio, were eating people’s dogs and cats.
In the CBS debate, he also said Lawler would vote for a national ban on abortion if the opportunity arose, which Lawler said was false. Jones did not answer CBS’s Marcia Kramer when she asked if he advocated pre-1967 borders in a potential deal between Israelis and Palestinians as he had previously done in a position paper. He said he supports a two-state solution.
Both candidates have accused the other of being a liar.
The final Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey shows Lawler leading Jones 49% to 44% with 7% undecided.
