NY-17 Swings Blue With Conley Victory

By Holly Crocco

New York’s 17th Congressional District is considered one of the state’s few “swing” districts, and the success of Democrat Cait Conley taking down incumbent Republican Mike Lawler likely helped tip the balance of power in Washington during the midterm elections Nov. 3.

Lawler, who spent two terms in the seat, bowed out at about 11 p.m., after results from Putnam, Dutchess, and Rockland counties were not in his favor. Due to malfunctioning voting machines in Westchester County, ballots had not yet been tabulated in the traditionally Democratic-dominated county. 

At that time, Conley was up about 5 percentage points, with 57 percent of the vote.

Her victory makes her the first female West Point graduate to be elected to Congress.

“I hope your hearts are filled with pride in what we built here – what started a movement and that we saw carry the country tonight,” Conley said in her victory speech, addressing supporters. “We took back the House and the Senate.”

The next day, she added: “We have a lot to do to root out the corruption that has taken hold in Washington, lower costs for working families, and make our government serve the people once again. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for entrusting me with the privilege of a lifetime. I will never take it for granted, and I promise to fight each and every day for the better, more affordable future we all deserve.”

In Putnam County, it was Lawler who took the majority of the votes on Election Day, with 51 percent or 21,548 votes, versus Conley’s 49 percent or 20,696 votes.

About 20 minutes after calling to concede to Conley, he spoke to a room of disappointed constituents.

“When all of the votes are counted tomorrow in Westchester, it’s going to be pretty clear that we will be short,” said Lawler, noting that in all the campaigns he’s launched, he has never conceded on election night. “I fundamentally believe it is the right thing to do, and so I congratulate Cait on her win. I wish her well.”