Rep. Mike Lawler said on Sunday he expects to win reelection in his New York district on Tuesday night, putting a confident finish on one of the most closely watched House races of the cycle. Appearing on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, he said he believes voters will send him back to Congress after a campaign centered on prices, taxes, housing and energy.
Lawler pointed to his record as the case for another term. He said he and his staff have closed over 10,000 constituent cases over the last four years, brought back over $140 million to the district, passed over two dozen bills and seen 17 of them signed into law. He added that he owns a home in the district, pays taxes there and is raising his family there, arguing that he is living the same pressures as the people he represents.
That pitch is aimed at voters in a district Brennan described as one of the cycle’s key battlegrounds, with Leader Jeffries having singled it out as a target. Lawler leaned hard on affordability, saying he helped deliver the largest tax cut in American history, lift the cap on salt and lead the housing bill. He also argued that inflation rose 21% under the prior administration, the economy grew 3.4% in the third quarter and more than a million private sector jobs were created over the past year.
But the exchange also laid bare the problem any incumbent running on pocketbook progress faces. Brennan noted that wages have not kept up with inflation for the last six months and that prices have continued to climb, a reminder that the cost of living still defines the race even after Lawler’s list of legislative wins. He tried to answer that by saying utilities are up 58% under Kathy Hochul and by blaming New York for shutting down nuclear power, banning natural gas and blocking pipelines.
Lawler also said Jared Golden endorsed his reelection a little over a month ago, calling himself the only sitting member of Congress endorsed by a member of the opposing party. He said the House would finalize a permitting reform bill before the end of Congress, another signal that he is trying to close with policy rather than politics. The next real test comes Tuesday night, when voters in his district decide whether his record is enough to keep the seat in New York.
