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Congressman Mike Lawler dominated the first of just two debates Cait Conley would accept. She would not give a Yorktown family who lost their daughter a yes or no answer, and she refused to denounce Zohran Mamdani. Voters get one more look at the two candidates side by side before early voting opens October 24.

Pearl River, NY — September 28, 2026… Congressman Mike Lawler won tonight’s News 12 debate decisively, and voters will remember the questions Democratic nominee Cait Conley would not answer. The debate, moderated by News 12 senior political reporter Tara Rosenblum and built largely on questions from viewers, was the first of only two televised debates Conley has agreed to in this race.

Tom and Jessica Gorman of Yorktown, whose 18-year-old daughter Sheridan was shot and killed in Chicago in March, asked both candidates about New York’s new law ending the agreements that let local police and county jails work with ICE. The man charged with Sheridan’s murder was in the country illegally and had previously been arrested and released. “Do you support New York’s new law, yes or no?” the Gormans asked. “And would you support federal legislation that would override state laws like this one?” Conley spoke for a full minute and answered neither question.

“Jess and Tom, what you didn’t hear from Cait was an answer to your question,” Lawler said. He told them: “I stand with you. I am against Kathy Hochul’s disastrous new law, and I support any legislation that will end sanctuary jurisdictions in this country.”

Earlier in the night, after Conley said she would support Lawler’s Jewish American Security Act, Lawler asked her four times whether she denounces New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, noting that he has denounced Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens. Conley never answered. She said she denounces “antisemitism from anyone” and has “firm disagreements with members of the DSA within the Democratic Party,” then turned the question to Donald Trump.

Lawler also asked Conley what she does for the two artificial intelligence companies that have paid her $328,283 in salary and consulting fees since January 2025, according to the financial disclosure she filed with the Clerk of the House in May. She did not say. She talked about her military service instead and accused Lawler of attacking it. Lawler had opened the debate by thanking her for her military service.

Conley repeatedly lied on stage, claiming at least three times that Lawler votes with Donald Trump “100% of the time.” This claim is 100% false. In just the latest example, when asked tonight whether he agrees with President Trump’s pushback against warnings to slow down artificial intelligence, Lawler answered, “No, I don’t agree with him.”

The nonpartisan Bridge Grades report card gives Lawler a 99.2 out of 100 for bipartisanship, the best score in New York’s congressional delegation. And he closed tonight’s debate by quoting former New York City Mayor Ed Koch: “If you agree with me on 9 out of 12 things, vote for me. If you agree with me on 12 out of 12 things, have your head examined.”

“That was a total victory, from the opening statement to the closing one. Mike Lawler walked onto that stage with nearly four years of results for the Hudson Valley, and he won on the debate stage again,” said Lawler for Congress spokesman Ciro Riccardi. “Cait Conley went on national television in June and said Mike Lawler was scared to face her. Tonight she finally got her chance and Cait Conley was exposed as completely unprepared and incapable of answering unscripted questions from voters. She could not give Tom and Jessica Gorman a yes or no on a simple question about a policy that led to the murder of their daughter;  Cait could not bring herself to denounce Zohran Mamdani; and when pressed she could not defend her big lie about the Congressman’s voting record.”  

Lawler challenged Conley to six televised debates on June 23, the night she won the Democratic primary. Days later, she told MS NOW’s Morning Joe that Lawler was “definitely scared to face me in November.” She went on to accept two debates, on News 12 and PIX11, and turned down invitations from CNN’s State of the Union and NBC’s Meet the Press. In 2024, Lawler and former Congressman Mondaire Jones met in three televised debates.

The PIX11 debate on October 14 is the only other televised debate Conley has accepted. It happens only ten days before early voting begins on October 24.

“Mike Lawler will debate Cait Conley on any network, any night between now and October 24,” Riccardi concluded.  “After that, though, I’ll be surprised if she shows up for the second one, let alone agree to a third.”

 

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