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Televised debates are becoming more and more rare in our fucked-up political moment, but this one didn't exactly redeem the medium. On Monday night, Republican Congressmember Mike Lawler and his opponent, Democratic nominee Cait Conley, went toe to toe on News 12 in a debate best characterized as "a mid-off."
It's one of the most competitive midterm congressional races in the country, one of just 22 seats Cook Political Report considers a "toss-up." The district comprises Westchester County suburbs, a couple lefty Hudson Valley towns, all of Putnam County, and Rockland County's influential Orthodox Jewish and Hasidic communities.
Lawler, the Empire State's No. 1 Michael Jackson fan, unseated the powerful Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney in 2022 and has hung onto the seat since then. Monday night, Lawler repeatedly demanded that Conley denounce Mayor Zohran Mamdani over the New York City executive's supposed antisemitism and defended President Donald Trump's chaotic and internationally embarrassing tariff policy.
Meanwhile, despite the fact that Conley picked up some progressive backers in her primary race, the military veteran and former Biden national security official hewed to centrism as often as possible.