NY Rep. Mike Lawler secures critical win for House GOP, beating progressive ex-lawmaker

First-term Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., is projected to survive his first re-election bid in his suburban 17th Congressional District.

He defeated former Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., delivering a much-needed victory for House GOP leaders as they seek to hold onto their razor-thin margin of control over half of Congress, according to The Associated Press, which called the race after 5 a.m. ET Wednesday.

Through his first term, Lawler staked out a reputation as one of House Republicans’ more moderate members, frequently working across the aisle. He was ranked the fourth-most bipartisan member in the Lugar Center and Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy’s annual index.

Before coming to Congress, he was a longtime Republican operative and served in the New York State Assembly.

New York’s 17th District is just north of New York City and is one of several areas represented by Republicans in the House that President Biden won in 2020.

But uneasiness over crime, spurred by New York City’s progressive criminal justice policies, led to a suburban backlash that was key to House Republicans securing control over one half of Congress.

Meanwhile, this latest race saw Jones’ evolution from a progressive lawmaker who once backed calls to ‘defund the police’ into a more moderate candidate calling out fellow Democrats for being critical of Israel.

Earlier this year, the New York Democrat angered his progressive allies, including the Congressional Progressive Caucus’ campaign arm, which rescinded its endorsements, when he endorsed a ‘Squad’ Democrat’s more moderate primary challenger.

Jones came out in support of George Latimer, a longtime Westchester County official, while rebuking Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., for his criticism of Israel’s response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. Latimer wound up beating Bowman in the primary for the safe blue seat.

But that was not enough to win back his old seat in the New York City suburbs.

Jones represented the 17th Congressional District under its previous boundaries from 2021 through 2023.

Redistricting then pitted him against former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., who switched from his 18th District even if it meant forcing Jones out, a controversial move given Maloney’s role at the time as chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Jones did not challenge Maloney but ran in the 2022 Democrat primary for the more urban 10th Congressional District, where he lost to Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y.

Maloney wound up narrowly losing re-election to Lawler.