By Nolan D. McCaskill
WASHINGTON, June 23 (Reuters) - Cait Conley, a U.S. Army veteran and national security expert, won the Democratic nomination on Tuesday to take on U.S. Representative Mike Lawler, a New York Republican seen as one of the most vulnerable House members heading into November's midterm elections, according to U.S. media projections.
The two-term congressman represents New York's 17th District, which stretches from the New York City suburbs in Westchester County to the Lower Hudson
Valley.
Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, narrowly won the district in 2024, making it a top pickup opportunity for Democrats, who need to gain a net three seats in the midterm elections to win control of the House of Representatives for the final two years of Donald Trump's presidency.
Conley defeated Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson and three other Democrats. Conley outraised Davidson by more than $1 million, reported twice as much cash on hand and led in a pair of recent polls.
While Lawler is running in an unfavorable environment for Republicans nationally, he has a strong track record of winning tough races. He ousted Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, the chair of House Democrats' campaign arm, in 2022 and defeated former Representative Mondaire Jones in 2024.
Lawler considered running for governor this election cycle but announced last July that he would seek reelection instead, telling Fox News that it was critical for Republicans to hold the House.
Harris won Lawler's district by 0.6 percentage point in 2024. Lawler defeated Jones that year by more than 6 percentage points.
The incumbent Republican has raised $7.4 million, more than double Conley's $3.3 million. Lawler also has more cash on hand with $4.4 million as of June 3 to Conley's $941,000.
Conley is a West Point graduate and combat veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. She later served as the counterterrorism director on the White House National Security Council and helped secure elections at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
She is part of a group chat of female veterans running for Congress known as the "Hell Cats." One, Navy veteran Rebecca Bennett, won her Democratic primary for a battleground New Jersey seat on June 2. The other two are running in states whose primaries have not yet been held.
New York Democrats are also defending as many as three seats that could be competitive in November. U.S. Representatives Tom Suozzi, Laura Gillen and Josh Riley all represent battleground districts. Riley will face state Senator Peter Oberacker, Gillen will run against Hempstead Town Tax Receiver Jeanine Driscoll or retired Air Force veteran Marvin Williams, and Suozzi's opponent will be former Assemblyman Mike LiPetri or personal injury lawyer Gregory Hach.
(Reporting by Nolan D. McCaskill; Editing by Michael Learmonth, Alistair Bell and Lincoln Feast.)
