Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) has been flirting with a New York gubernatorial bid after winning reelection to his House seat in 2024. A new Democratic challenger is set to redirect his attention back home.
Rockland County legislator Beth Davidson is jumping into the race for New York’s 17th Congressional District in the hope she can flip the competitive seat for Democrats.
“My name is Beth Davidson,” she said in a post on X announcing her candidacy. “I’m a County Legislator, former school board VP, and working mom with a proven record of delivering bipartisan wins for the Hudson Valley. Today, I’m announcing that I’m running to flip NY-17 blue.”
Davidson filed to run against Lawler on Tuesday, becoming the second Democrat after nonprofit organization leader Jessica Reinmann to declare their candidacy. Davidson already appears to have wide support from Democrats in Rockland County, a part of the district that also features all of Putnam County and portions of Westchester and Dutchess counties.
Davidson touted the support of “over 30 Rockland County elected officials and Democratic party leaders,” including New York Assemblyman Pat Carroll and several other county legislators.
She called the 17th District “one of the most winnable districts in the entire country for Democrats in 2026” in a fundraising message following the announcement. Lawler flipped the district away from then-Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney in 2022 by less than a percentage point before a decisive 6-point win over former Rep. Mondaire Jones in 2024.
The Cook Political Report rates the district “lean Republican” for 2026.
Davidson ran and won a spot on the Rockland County legislature in 2023 and served as a Nyack School Board member before that. Just as she did during her 2023 run, Davidson is focusing on affordability as her key message to voters.
“Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson is a community leader and bipartisan problem-solver who knows firsthand that business-as-usual politics in Washington and Albany have left us with higher taxes, higher costs, and anxiety about the Hudson Valley’s future,” her campaign website says.
“She is running for Congress to put the 17th Congressional District first, by bringing down the cost of living, protecting the environment, and finding bipartisan solutions to keep our schools and neighborhoods safe,” it adds.
In an interview with the New York Times before her announcement, she took her first punches at Lawler, referencing Elon Musk’s involvement in the government. “Right now we are watching an unelected billionaire run roughshod over the Constitution, raid our government and hurt federal workers,” she said.
“I certainly don’t see Mike Lawler standing up for us on any of these issues,” she added.
She did join with Lawler in condemning New York City’s congestion pricing plan, calling it an “unfair tax” on her community’s commuters. She also backed efforts to “secure the border, deport violent criminals and stop putting decades of failed policy on the backs of voters in the Hudson Valley.”
Lawler’s camp told the outlet that voters would be skeptical of Davidson. “So, let me get this straight: Beth Davidson supports NY’s sanctuary state policies, opposes cutting government waste, and can’t summon the courage to criticize radicals in her party who called for ‘defunding the police,’” Chris Russell, a spokesman for Lawler, said. “In other words, she’s Kathy Hochul 2.0 with a dash of A.O.C.”
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The New York Republican has yet to make his decision on whether he will run for governor in 2026, which could turn the House race upside down. He’s been a frequent critic of Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), recently blasting her for her “gimmick” stance on Con Edison’s recent rate hikes.
He all but announced that he’s interested in Hochul’s office in a December video. “No doubt she’s going to face a real challenge in 2026. I wonder who could beat her. Hmm. I might know a guy,” he said with a wink. “Anyway, that’s a video for another day.”
