Army veteran Cait Conley has emerged victorious in the bitter Democratic primary for New York’s 17th Congressional District, setting up a general election fight between a past national security staffer for former President Joe Biden and Republican Rep. Mike Lawler.
Conley, who served six tours overseas before becoming the National Security Council’s director for counterterrorism, leaned on her military service during her campaign, casting herself as a tough-as-nails political outsider who could cut through the noise and find pragmatic solutions.
She will move on to the general election in a district that has been called the most vulnerable House seat in the country, and Lawler, a political operative turned lawmaker, will now have to defend it.
Since April, Lawler has sued to knock a longshot Democratic candidate off the primary ballot, sent covert text blasts to sow discord and, according to one person who spoke with POLITICO, tried to play a direct hand in a coveted primary endorsement.
If Lawler’s past actions are any indication, Conley’s win is bad news for him. Tuesday’s result means Lawler’s efforts to meddle in the primary and sink Conley have fallen flat, and the disputed attack his team tried to amplify about her — that she’s somehow linked to Trump’s deportation agenda — will likely prove less salient outside of the closed Democratic primary.
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2026 Midterms
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