16 October 2026
Conley, Lawler Race to the Finish Reader Endorsements: House District 17 Debate Videos
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Philipstown district considered 'toss-up'
Leslie Leonard joined about 100 Cait Conley supporters who crammed their bodies and enthusiasm into a stuffy room on Sept. 27 at the Albert A. Capellini Community & Cultural Center in Yorktown Heights.
They gathered to canvass for the Democratic candidate, who hopes to defeat Rep. Mike Lawler, a two-term Republican congressman representing District 17, which includes Philipstown, on Nov. 3. Their battle cry: a rousing pep talk from Arizona senator and former vice president candidate Mark Kelly. Leonard said she decided to volunteer with Conley's campaign after attending a meet-and-greet with the candidate at a home in Nelsonville.
"She was just so inspiring and filled me with such hope," said Leonard, who is participating in a political campaign for the first time. "We so need somebody like her in politics."
Whether enough other voters in the district agree will be determined in a few weeks. But a visit from a high-profile Democrat like Kelly reinforces the race's importance to the party's hopes of regaining control of the House of Representatives, which Republicans now control, 218-214, with one independent and two vacancies. About 10 races nationally, including District 17, are considered toss-ups.
Kelly's visit followed a Sept. 16 appearance by Pete Buttigieg, a former presidential candidate and U.S. Department of Transportation secretary. Gabrielle Giffords, Kelly's wife and a former House member who survived a shooting and founded a national organization against gun violence, visited on Oct. 6. President Donald Trump visited Rockland County in May to stump for Lawler.
Conley's supporters are optimistic in part because of President Donald Trump's policies, whom poll respondents blame for rising prices for gas, food and other essentials. More than half (53 percent) of 1,280 registered voters surveyed by Marist University for NPR and PBS News in mid-September said they were more likely to vote for a Democratic congressional candidate in the general election. In addition, 45 percent of all respondents and 54 percent of independents said their vote would reflect opposition to Trump. (The poll had a margin of error of 3.8 percentage points.)
Conley has accused Lawler of siding with the president "100 percent of the time," citing an analysis in February by VoteHub of votes on 282 bills supported by Trump. An analysis of 80 key votes in 2025 by Congressional Quarterly found that Lawler voted "yes" on 94 percent of the bills Trump supported.
"Instead of taking votes to lower costs for working families in the Hudson Valley, my opponent, time and time again, supports Trump's agenda and votes not for the Hudson Valley, but for Donald Trump," said Conley during a PIX11 debate with Lawler on Wednesday (Oct. 14). "We are stuck literally paying the price."
Rising costs made up the "overwhelming majority" of questions District 17 voters submitted for a televised debate between Conley and Lawler on Sept. 28, said Tara Rosenblum, a reporter for News 12, which hosted the forum.
In addition to Putnam County, District 17 includes Rockland and parts of Dutchess and Westchester. (Beacon is located in District 18.) Lawler, who says he is a moderate and cites scorecards emphasizing his cooperation with Democratic colleagues, won the seat in 2022 and 2024 despite 41 percent of the district's 522,935 active voters being registered Democrats, versus 26 percent Republicans. Another 28 percent of voters are not affiliated with any party and, as in many races, appealing to them is a key to victory.
During the PIX11 debate, the moderator asked both candidates how they would lower grocery costs. Conley blamed Trump's tariffs, while Lawler pointed to energy prices, which he said could be lowered by reducing the permitting process for oil and gas projects to boost production. "Energy impacts inflation; energy impacts transportation, which impacts manufacturing and it impacts groceries," he said.
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Leslie Leonard joined about 100 Cait Conley supporters who crammed their bodies and enthusiasm into a stuffy room on Sept. 27 at the Albert A. Capellini Community & Cultural Center in Yorktown Heights.
They gathered to canvass for the Democratic candidate, who hopes to defeat Rep. Mike Lawler, a two-term Republican congressman representing District 17, which includes Philipstown, on Nov. 3. Their battle cry: a rousing pep talk from Arizona senator and former vice president candidate Mark Kelly. Leonard said she decided to volunteer with Conley's campaign after attending a meet-and-greet with the candidate at a home in Nelsonville.
"She was just so inspiring and filled me with such hope," said Leonard, who is participating in a political campaign for the first time. "We so need somebody like her in politics."
Whether enough other voters in the district agree will be determined in a few weeks. But a visit from a high-profile Democrat like Kelly reinforces the race's importance to the party's hopes of regaining control of the House of Representatives, which Republicans now control, 218-214, with one independent and two vacancies. About 10 races nationally, including District 17, are considered toss-ups.
Kelly's visit followed a Sept. 16 appearance by Pete Buttigieg, a former presidential candidate and U.S. Department of Transportation secretary. Gabrielle Giffords, Kelly's wife and a former House member who survived a shooting and founded a national organization against gun violence, visited on Oct. 6. President Donald Trump visited Rockland County in May to stump for Lawler.
Conley's supporters are optimistic in part because of President Donald Trump's policies, whom poll respondents blame for rising prices for gas, food and other essentials. More than half (53 percent) of 1,280 registered voters surveyed by Marist University for NPR and PBS News in mid-September said they were more likely to vote for a Democratic congressional candidate in the general election. In addition, 45 percent of all respondents and 54 percent of independents said their vote would reflect opposition to Trump. (The poll had a margin of error of 3.8 percentage points.)
Conley has accused Lawler of siding with the president "100 percent of the time," citing an analysis in February by VoteHub of votes on 282 bills supported by Trump. An analysis of 80 key votes in 2025 by Congressional Quarterly found that Lawler voted "yes" on 94 percent of the bills Trump supported.
"Instead of taking votes to lower costs for working families in the Hudson Valley, my opponent, time and time again, supports Trump's agenda and votes not for the Hudson Valley, but for Donald Trump," said Conley during a PIX11 debate with Lawler on Wednesday (Oct. 14). "We are stuck literally paying the price."
Rising costs made up the "overwhelming majority" of questions District 17 voters submitted for a televised debate between Conley and Lawler on Sept. 28, said Tara Rosenblum, a reporter for News 12, which hosted the forum.
In addition to Putnam County, District 17 includes Rockland and parts of Dutchess and Westchester. (Beacon is located in District 18.) Lawler, who says he is a moderate and cites scorecards emphasizing his cooperation with Democratic colleagues, won the seat in 2022 and 2024 despite 41 percent of the district's 522,935 active voters being registered Democrats, versus 26 percent Republicans. Another 28 percent of voters are not affiliated with any party and, as in many races, appealing to them is a key to victory.
During the PIX11 debate, the moderator asked both candidates how they would lower grocery costs. Conley blamed Trump's tariffs, while Lawler pointed to energy prices, which he said could be lowered by reducing the permitting process for oil and gas projects to boost production. "Energy impacts inflation; energy impacts transportation, which impacts manufacturing and it impacts groceries," he said.
Political action...