Republican incumbent Mike Lawler and Democratic challenger Mondaire Jones squared off on Oct. 16 in their bid for New York state’s 17th Congressional District seat in the Hudson Valley.
The 17th Congressional District encompasses all of Rockland and Putnam counties, as well as parts of Westchester and Dutchess counties, where 59.6 percent of residents voted for President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
The debate aired on News 12 Westchester just weeks before the Nov. 5 general election, which will also decide control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Tara Rosenblum, News 12’s lead reporter, was the moderator.
“Their race is a crucial battleground that could determine the balance of power in Washington, D.C., for years to come,” she said.
Currently, Republicans hold a slim majority of 218–214 in the House.
An Emerson College/PIX11 TV survey taken between Oct. 1 and Oct. 3 shows a close race. Lawler is leading Jones 45 percent to 44 percent.
A digital coin toss determined that Jones, a former congressman who previously represented District 17, would present his position first.
In his opening statement, Jones said he wanted to restore women’s reproductive rights and protect Social Security and Medicare for the long term.
He also addressed the chaos at the border. “I want to make sure that we pass the bipartisan border security bill pending in Congress right now that my opponent is blocking,” the Democratic candidate said.
Bill S.4361, also known as the Border Act of 2024, would expand Department of Homeland Security authority to address the processing of non-U.S. nationals and provide supplemental appropriations for related purposes. It would also provide the department with emergency authority to remove or prohibit the entry of certain non-U.S. nationals within 100 miles of the southwest land border.
Republicans generally opposed it because they favor H.R.2., also known as the Secure the Border Act of 2023, which would limit parole for non-U.S. nationals by outlining reasons for which parole may be granted.
“We don’t support open borders and amnesty for criminal illegals,” Lawler said in his opening statement.
The Republican candidate also said he doesn’t support socialism, congestion pricing, and government-run health care.
After their opening statements, the candidates were pitched questions from the district’s constituents. They then had 90 seconds to answer.
When one viewer asked what the opposing candidates would do to address climate change on a federal level, Jones touted his support of the Inflation Reduction Act for its investment in clean, renewable energy.
“I’m someone who actually delivered legislation that combats climate change,” Jones said. “We have to make sure our communities are shored up, that they are heartened, and that we have the capacity to withstand these increasingly frequent and severe weather events.”
Lawler denied the allegation lodged by Jones that he had once mocked climate change on the social media platform X before he ran for Congress.
“I believe in climate change,” Lawler said. “It is real.”
He also noted his policy contributions to environmental protection.
“As a member of Congress, I have brought back critical funding to support clean water sewer infrastructure improvements,” he said. “I have fought to block barges from coming up the Hudson River. I have fought to block the discharge of toxic wastewater into the Hudson River.”
Both candidates presented differing views on a range of issues, including public safety.
“Cashless bail was the single, stupidest piece of legislation that has ever been enacted into law, anywhere,” Lawler said. “Three-quarters of those being arrested are migrants.”
Jones has said he wants the government to invest in alternatives to incarceration, eliminate mandatory minimum sentences, and abolish private prisons and the federal death penalty. He denied Lawler’s allegation that he ever advocated defunding the police.
“I never voted to cut funding for law enforcement,” Jones said. “We have to make sure we continue to fund our police.”
Federal Election Commission data show Jones leading financially with $4,312,536.71 in cash on hand compared with Lawler’s $3,930,455.81, and Lawler holding a slight edge in contributions with $5,736,579.61 compared to $5,540,543.21 for Jones.
Each candidate shook his head in disagreement when the other made a barbed comment.
For example, Lawler criticized Jones for being an alleged avowed socialist and extremist, to which Jones said: “We’re going to hear a lot of lies tonight. ... I never called myself a socialist.”
When Jones accused Lawler of a pattern of racism for refusing to participate in a candidate’s forum hosted by the NAACP and appearing in blackface at a 2006 Halloween party, Lawler responded: “I recognize why people were upset. I said sorry both in The New York Times and on TV.”
