Hochul’s new “Local Cops, Local Crimes Act” bars local police from cooperating with federal immigration authorities, and Albany is now forcing departments to comply or lose state law enforcement funding.

Yorktown Heights, NY – July 24, 2026… Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17) was joined today by Assemblyman Matt Slater, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, local elected officials, and Jessica and Tom Gorman of Yorktown Heights for a press conference at the Yorktown Police Department, where they blasted Albany’s new sanctuary mandates on local law enforcement.

Under Governor Hochul’s new “Local Cops, Local Crimes Act,” local police departments are barred from cooperating with federal immigration authorities, and the state is now forcing departments to comply or lose state law enforcement funding.

The Gormans’ daughter, Sheridan, an 18-year-old Yorktown High School graduate and Loyola University freshman, was shot and killed in March in Chicago, a sanctuary city, while walking with friends near campus. The man charged with her murder is an illegal immigrant from Venezuela.

“Today we are here, as one community, to send a clear message to Governor Hochul and Albany Democrats: Stop tying the hands of our local police. Stop forcing sanctuary policies on our towns and villages, and stop putting politics ahead of public safety,” said Congressman Mike Lawler. “This so-called ‘Local Cops, Local Crimes Act’ does exactly the opposite of what its name suggests. This bill prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities and threatens to withhold state law enforcement funding from departments that refuse to comply. In plain English: Albany is trying to pressure our police departments.”

“To my colleagues in Albany: the people of New York are watching criminals get protected while law-abiding citizens pay the price. It is time to choose safety over sanctuary. It is time to put the people before politics. New Yorkers are tired of it,” continued Lawler. “Kathy Hochul needs to immediately call the legislature back and repeal this disastrous law that they have enacted, and start cooperating on the deportation of criminal illegal aliens. It is not a hard concept.”

“This was preventable. Every step of the way. And every step of the way, the government failed the Gorman family,” concluded Lawler. “Kathy Hochul needs to listen to the Gormans. Not to me, not to Bruce, not to Matt. To the Gormans.”

“It’s no secret that Governor Hochul and the New York Democrats have taken our state in the wrong direction on public safety. First came cashless bail. Then Raise the Age. Then that disastrous prison staffing crisis. And then, after the murder of Sheridan Gorman, instead of asking what went wrong and how we can prevent the next tragedy, they chose to make New York a sanctuary state,” said Assemblyman Matt Slater. “How many families have to suffer before Albany realizes that we need to support our police and not tie their hands? How many victims will it take for Albany to understand that public safety is government’s first responsibility?”

“An 18-year-old daughter, at the beginning of her life, gunned down by someone who should not have been in this country, because of sanctuary policies promulgated by those who have an agenda that is anti-American, anti-public-safety, pro-criminal. That needs to end,” stated Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. “Let’s do this for Sheridan’s memory. Let’s make something of her life that was cut short so early. Let’s give her family some comfort that she didn’t die in vain, by correcting these injustices that continue to happen throughout New York State.”

“A father believes he can protect his children. We check the doors, we wait up until they come home,” said Tom Gorman. “But I cannot protect Sheridan from a government that refused to use every lawful tool available to protect her. And that truth will follow me for the rest of my life”

“So I ask Governor Hochul and every politician defending these policies: How many warnings are enough? A theft, an assault, a weapons charge, a failure to appear, an active warrant, or must an American’s child die before you decide that someone is dangerous?” asked Mr. Gorman. “We will today ask Governor Hochul that same very question: Why is cooperation with federal immigration authorities too much to ask, but asking New Yorkers to bury their own children acceptable?”

“All I can do is speak the truth. Sanctuary policies have consequences. Blocking communication has consequences. Refusing to enforce immigration law has consequences,” concluded Mr. Gorman. “And sometimes those consequences are carried forever by a father and mother who would give their life ten times over so that their daughter could live.”

“My beautiful 18-year-old daughter was murdered in cold blood by a man who never should have been in this country,” said Jessica Gorman. “A man our government had already encountered, already arrested, and still failed to remove, because the politicians we chose, leaders like Kathy Hochul, choose failed sanctuary policies over the safety of our American citizens.”

The speakers closed with a united call to end Albany’s sanctuary policies. Lawler demanded that Governor Hochul immediately call the legislature back into session and repeal the law, and pledged to fight in Congress to ban sanctuary policies nationwide. Blakeman, whose county maintains a 287(g) cooperation agreement with ICE, promised that his first executive order as governor would declare that New York is no longer a sanctuary state. Slater said Albany must find the courage to end sanctuary policies before another family endures what the Gormans have endured. And the Gormans urged New Yorkers to remember Sheridan this November and vote to end sanctuary policies.

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Video and Audio recordings of the press conference are available HERE.

Still photos are available HERE

Independent co/efficient polling shows Mike Lawler leads Cait Conley 50 to 45, and Lawler is up 15 points with independent voters in critical House race.

Pearl River, NY — 7/23/2026… A new survey from independent polling firm co/efficient shows Congressman Mike Lawler leading Cait Conley 50% to 45% in New York’s 17th District, with just 5% undecided. The survey sampled almost 1,300 likely general election voters. Lawler’s lead is built on crossover support from his independent brand. Lawler wins unaffiliated voters 54 to 39, and takes 23 percent of registered Democrats. 

The poll also shows New York Democrats badly underwater in NY-17. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani posts a 37-53 job rating in the district, Governor Kathy Hochul sits at 36-49, and 63 percent of likely voters, including a 51 percent majority who are very concerned, worry about the rise of socialism in New York. Among independents, that concern hits 64 percent. 

Two weeks ago, Conley’s allies were telling a very different story. On July 8, House Majority PAC, the super PAC whose entire mission is electing House Democrats, released a poll claiming Conley led 51% to 45%. Who ran that poll? FM3 Research, a Democratic polling firm, on the PAC’s dime. Conley’s campaign then blasted out a release the same day declaring she was “surging.”

“Cait Conley’s campaign has spent the past month claiming she’s ‘taking the lead.’ Her whole campaign is riding on a number her DC donors and funders paid for, and an independent survey of nearly 1,300 voters just showed Mike Lawler winning this race by 5 points, all while crushing Cait amongst independent voters,” said Lawler for Congress campaign manager Ciro Riccardi. “If Cait has to rely on her DC donors to continue to prop up her campaign, she’s in for a rude awakening in November. We anticipate Mike will be ‘surging’ past Cait on Election Night as he heads towards a third term of delivering for Hudson Valley voters. Fortunately for Cait, she can go back to her lucrative consulting for AI defense contractors, maybe even helping advise them on who to deport next.”

The full polling memo can be found HERE.

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Conley claiming she’d vote for military aid while also calling that same vote “shameful” doesn’t fly

Pearl River, NY – 7/17/2026… Democrat Cait Conley’s duplicitous attempt to play both sides of the military aid for Israel issue today doesn’t fly and exposes her as a phony who is terrified to stand up to the radical anti-Israel crowd in her own party. Lawler’s camp said Conley simultaneously claiming she would have supported $3.3 billion in military aid for Israel while also saying that the same vote was “shameful” is completely lacking in credibility.

Lawler’s camp specifically pointed to her unwillingness to directly and explicitly call out fellow New York Democrats like Congressman Pat Ryan, whose complete sell out to AOC and the radical left is now complete. 

Pat Ryan endorsed Cait Conley back in January and headlined her get-out-the-vote rally in Peekskill last month, where Conley told the crowd she was “so incredibly proud” to campaign alongside him.

“Cait Conley’s embarrassing attempt to have her cake and eat it, too, on such a critical issue to the 17th Congressional District and its large Jewish population, not only insults people’s intelligence, but reveals a candidate completely lacking in conviction, credibility, and seriousness,” said Ciro Riccardi, campaign manager for Lawler for Congress. “Jewish voters and people in both parties who support Israel won’t let her get away with this two-faced garbage, and the press shouldn’t either.”

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Three weeks after Congressman Lawler first called for six televised debates, Cait Conley has yet to accept a single one, and has still not agreed to the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce candidate forum.

Pearl River, NY – 7/15/2026… The Lawler for Congress campaign today renewed its demand that Democratic nominee Cait Conley accept Congressman Mike Lawler’s standing challenge to six televised debates across New York’s 17th Congressional District, and further called on Conley to accept the candidate forum hosted by the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce – an invitation she has, to date, also failed to accept.

Congressman Lawler first issued the six-debate challenge on June 23, the night Conley won the Democratic primary. “We all commend Cait’s military service, but the people of the Hudson Valley don’t vote for resumes, they vote for results,” Lawler said at the time. “That is why I am challenging Cait tonight to six televised debates.”

On July 7, Congressman Lawler renewed the challenge in a formal letter to the Conley campaign, noting that absentee ballots will be mailed to voters in just over two months and that there is ample time to organize the first debate this month. The letter also cited LoHud’s call that Conley “owes it to voters” to debate. Congressman Lawler has already authorized his campaign manager and general consultant to begin working with the Conley campaign immediately to schedule the first debate, but they have not yet heard from Cait Conley’s team.

On July 10, Congressman Lawler renewed the challenge a third time, this time on national television. Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press NOW, Lawler said: “I challenge her again to six televised debates. And I would welcome you, Kristen, to host one immediately. There’s no reason why we should wait until October or late September. Let’s get it started now.” Kristen Welker responded on air: “We’re going to track it very closely. And as you know, I like a good debate, Congressman. So let’s see what happens.” With one of the nation’s most respected political journalists openly signaling her interest in hosting a debate, Conley’s continued silence is inexcusable.

Conley’s refusal to engage extends beyond the debate stage. The Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce has a long tradition of hosting congressional candidate forums where Hudson Valley employers and workers can question the candidates directly. Congressman Lawler is prepared to participate. Conley has not yet agreed. The campaign today calls on her to accept the Chamber’s forum without further delay.

New York’s 17th Congressional District, spanning Rockland, Putnam, Westchester, and Dutchess counties, is rated the only true toss-up district in New York by the Cook Political Report, and the outcome may well determine control of the House of Representatives. Voters deserve every opportunity to compare the candidates side by side, in their own words, before ballots go out.

Lawler for Congress spokesman Chris Russell issued the following statement reacting to Cait’s ongoing debate dodging:

“Three weeks ago, Congressman Lawler challenged Cait Conley to six televised debates. Since then: She’s dodging and making excuses. Meet the Press’ Kristen Welker said on national television she’d welcome a good debate. The Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce is ready to host a forum. Ballots go out in just over two months. It’s time Cait Conley stopped hiding behind canned talking points and safe audiences. If she wants to represent the Hudson Valley, she can start by showing up and facing tough questions. So let’s go, Cait. Let’s have these debates.”

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Pearl River, NY – July 13, 2026… Today, the Lawler for Congress campaign announced another dominant fundraising quarter, raising more than $1.4 million in Q2 2026 and entering the heart of the general election with almost $4.85 million in cash on hand.

The quarter was powered by grassroots supporters. Individual donors gave more than $1 million of the Q2 total, with 4,985 individuals making 10,782 separate donations at an average of just $100.

Cycle-to-date, the Lawler for Congress campaign has raised nearly $8 million. Combined with the campaign’s joint fundraising committees, total fundraising for the 2025-26 cycle nearly tops $9 million.

“These numbers tell a simple story: Hudson Valley voters trust leadership that delivers, and they’re putting their money behind Mike Lawler,” said Ciro Riccardi, Campaign Manager for Lawler for Congress. “Nearly 5,000 individual donors gave to Mike this quarter, the kind of grassroots muscle that wins tough races.”

“Cait Conley is entering the grueling run into Election Day with 1/5th of the resources Congressman Lawler has at his disposal,” continued Riccardi. “Cait and her DC party insiders blew millions of dollars on a primary where she could barely crack 50% of the vote. Now, they’ll need to spend tens of millions just to make this race competitive.”

“While Cait Conley sprints to the left to keep AOC and her far-left allies happy, Mike Lawler is uniting working families, labor, law enforcement, Republicans, independents, and common-sense Democrats who want results. He’ll have every resource he needs to share his record and win in November,” concluded Riccardi.



 

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Ms. Cait Conley

Cait for New York
PO Box 96
Ossining, NY 10562
[email protected]

Dear Cait,

Now that the Fourth of July holiday is behind us, I am writing to renew my debate challenge to you, which I made on June 23.  The same challenge you have ignored, while journalists with the area’s largest newspaper said you “owe it to voters” to participate.  

As you will recall, I challenged you to six televised debates to give voters in New York’s 17th Congressional District ample opportunity to see us share the same stage and debate the issues important to residents and taxpayers.  

We all agree that this will be one of the most competitive and watched congressional races in the entire country. Frankly, that level of national attention requires candidates willing to engage in vigorous public debate, not through press releases, tweets, and carefully choreographed events put on by organizations based out of DC, but rather one-on-one in front of a large television audience. We have an opportunity to set a standard for transparency and substance that other high-profile campaigns around the country would be pressed to emulate.

Moreover, with absentee ballots being mailed out just over two months from today, there is no legitimate reason to delay us scheduling the first debate right away. I am confident we can find a sponsor and moderator who will accommodate us in short order.

Disappointingly, your campaign to date has been focused on lying about my proven bipartisan voting record, supporting tax increases and Sanctuary policies, concealing your lucrative consulting contracts with AI and big tech companies, and endlessly repeating canned, hyperpartisan talking points that have been long on biography and woefully short on detail or substance.

Voters deserve better. They deserve to hear why you defend positions like:

• Opposing expanding the cap on state and local tax deductions and raising taxes by over $4,000 a year for the average Hudson Valley taxpayers

• Supporting Sanctuary City policies and handcuffing law enforcement as it relates to immigration enforcement

• Embracing radical Socialists in New York City and inviting them to come campaign with you in the Hudson Valley

• Endorsing Kathy Hochul’s disastrous energy mandates and “green” policies that are driving up electricity costs is a good idea

Voters know where I stand on issues.  They know my bipartisan record.  They know – whether they ultimately agree with me or not – that I speak my mind, never run from a debate, fight for them and their families, and deliver on my promises.  Frankly, they don’t know much about you at all.  It’s time for them to learn.  

I have authorized my campaign manager and general consultant to work with their counterparts on your team to schedule the first of our six debates this month, and I am hopeful you will authorize your team to do the same.  Let’s debate, Cait!

Sincerely,

Michael Lawler

U.S. Congressman (NY-17)

Cait Conley has had multiple chances to denounce the Socialist Sweep of New York City, but every single time she’s deflected, dodged, or outright accepted their support in her race for Congress. Today, the Lawler for Congress campaign announced a five-figure ad buy to hold her accountable.

Pearl River, NY — 6/30/2026… Fresh off her under-50% primary win, Cait Conley sat down with CBS, Bloomberg TV, and NBC and received what should have been a layup question on every program about the socialist sweep in New York City. Yet every time, she avoided the question and moved on, even when confronted with a clip of Brad Lander, architect of the Defund the Police movement in NYC, saying he was excited to campaign for her. Then, Cait doubled down, saying she would welcome his support!

This is in stark contrast to the actions taken by members of Conley’s own party from New York, including Tom Suozzi, who have pledged to fight the radical left.

Today, the Lawler for Congress campaign is announcing a five-figure buy to air these clips so every voter in NY-17 can see Cait Conley’s cowardice for themselves.

Lawler for Congress Campaign Manager Ciro Riccardi offered the following statement in light of this new ad spend:

“Cait Conley will be held accountable throughout this campaign for her far-left positions, and that starts today. Saying you would ‘welcome’ socialists like Brad Lander, Zohran Mamdani, and the rest of the DSA in the Hudson Valley is the opposite of moderate – it’s radical. Cait Conley says she wants to fight for the Hudson Valley, but she can’t even stand up and denounce someone who wants to abolish ICE, defund the police, raise taxes, and is Zohran Mamdani’s best friend. That lack of courage, also known as cowardice, in the face of radicalism is precisely why voters will send Cait Conley back to the private sector and big tech contract work this November.”

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Cait Conley has decided she wants the help of those who have pledged to abolish ICE, fought to defund the police, and co-founded a group that calls for the “total eradication of Western civilization.”

Pearl River, NY — 6/29/2026… Last Tuesday, three New York City socialists won their Congressional primaries: Brad Lander in NY-10, Claire Valdez in NY-7, and Darializa Avila Chevalier in NY-13. The very next day, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stated that she was looking forward to working with Cait Conley and her fellow socialists. Brad Lander said he was excited to campaign for Cait Conley in the Hudson Valley after winning in NY-10.

And Cait Conley’s response? “I welcome anyone here in this district.”

So who exactly is Cait Conley welcoming into the Hudson Valley?

Brad Lander (NY-10). In June 2020, Lander published an open letter with a title that says it all: “My commitment to working to defund the NYPD.” He called for cutting a billion dollars from the police budget. Recently, Brad stated he was looking forward to campaigning for Cait Conley in the Hudson Valley.

Claire Valdez (NY-7). Valdez calls herself a “proud democratic socialist,” and her own campaign website pledges that she will “fight to dismantle and abolish ICE.” She was arrested inside Senator Chuck Schumer’s Manhattan office in August 2025 while protesting U.S. arms sales to Israel. At a televised primary debate, she said Israel had committed “genocide” and said she would support arresting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on an International Criminal Court warrant if he set foot in New York.

Darializa Avila Chevalier (NY-13). Deleted tweets reviewed by CNN’s KFile show her calling to abolish the police, prisons, and borders, declaring “all deportation is wrong,” and reposting a message that “Israel doesn’t exist.” She also called President Biden a “rapist.” Darializa even attended the pro-Hamas Times Square rally on October 8, 2023, the day after October 7th, an event so widely condemned that fellow primary winner Brad Lander quit the DSA over the party’s promotion of it. At a March 2026 candidate forum, she declined to condemn Hamas’s October 7 attack when asked directly. She also co-founded Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), the campus group that later posted that it was fighting for the “total eradication of Western civilization.”

And Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) herself, who has called to “Abolish ICE,” still champions defunding the police on her campaign website, and pledged at a March 2026 NYC-DSA forum to vote against any U.S. military aid to Israel, including defensive systems such as the Iron Dome, which she has previously voted against.

These are the people who Cait Conley wants to serve alongside and the same ones she would “welcome” into the Hudson Valley. Those are their words and their records.

Lawler for Congress Campaign Manager Ciro Riccardi offered the following response:

“Cait Conley just said the quiet part out loud – that she welcomes the support of New York City socialists in her campaign for Congress. Brad Lander, Claire Valdez, Darializa Avila Chevalier, and AOC are some of the most radical, card-carrying members of the Democratic Socialists of America, and Cait Conley wants to campaign alongside them. These are folks who want to defund the police, abolish ICE, work for the ‘total eradication of Western Civilization,’ get rid of prisons and borders, and even think Joe Biden is a rapist. If Cait thinks those are the values Hudson Valley voters are clamoring for, we wish her the best of luck in securing more six-figure contracts with big tech companies after losing in November.”

 

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Cait Conley won her primary while refusing to tell voters what two Palantir-linked AI defense contractors paid her nearly $335,000 to do, citing nondisclosure agreements. Now that she’s the nominee, the Lawler for Congress campaign is calling on Conley to release certified copies of her NDAs with Primer AI and Hidden Level. If she won’t, voters deserve to know why.

Pearl River, NY — 6/24/2026… Cait Conley is now the Democratic nominee for New York’s 17th Congressional District. She earned that nomination without ever answering a basic question: What are Primer AI and Hidden Level paying her hundreds of thousands of dollars to do?

Conley’s own financial disclosure, filed only after a local reporter and constituents pressed her, shows roughly $335,000 in income from the two firms, $35,000 from Primer, and nearly $300,000 from Hidden Level. Both companies work alongside Palantir, the contractor helping the federal government carry out its surveillance and deportation operations. Primer advertises that it supports DHS “homeland security operations.” Primer also won what was then its largest federal contract in history, a multi-million-dollar deal with US Special Operations Command, in October 2020, while Conley was serving as Director of Operations at Army Special Operations Command, inside SOCOM.

When voters and members of the media asked what she actually did for that money, Conley said she had signed nondisclosure agreements and could not discuss it. Lawler for Congress campaign manager Ciro Riccardi today called on her to release certified copies of those agreements:

“Cait Conley is asking Hudson Valley voters to make her their voice in Congress, but she’s doing so while hiding who has been signing her checks and what they bought. She says an NDA ties her hands. Fine. Then release certified copies of them. If there is nothing in Cait Conley’s arrangement with Primer and Hidden Level that voters would object to, a certified copy of each NDA costs her nothing. So which is it, Cait? Will you release certified copies of your NDAs with Primer and Hidden Level, so the people of the Hudson Valley can see exactly what a Palantir-linked surveillance contractor is paying their would-be Congresswoman to do? Or will you ask them to trust you while you keep them in the dark? If you are serious about representing the Hudson Valley, you’ll release them. If you won’t, voters deserve to know why.”

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Lawler says Conley’s overly scripted soundbites and attempts to conceal her lucrative consulting deals with AI and big tech companies behind NDA’s won’t fly in nation’s top race

Pearl River – June 23, 2026… Congressman Mike Lawler issued the following statement tonight/this morning in response to Cait Conley’s victory in the NY-17 Democratic Primary tonight:

“We all commend Cait’s military service, but the people of the Hudson Valley don’t vote for resumes, they vote for results. Recent media criticism about Cait’s shallow, hyperpartisan campaign are spot on.  Overly scripted soundbites and hyper partisan name-calling backed by millions of dollars from Washington, DC party bosses might win a primary against underfunded local challengers, but it’s not going to win the nation’s most-watched congressional race against someone, like me, with a proven bipartisan record of delivering for this district during both the Biden and Trump Administrations, and standing up to my own party again and again along the way.”

Added Lawler: “That is why I am challenging Cait tonight to six televised debates.  Without the beltway handlers who parachuted her into this district from Virginia there to script her – I look forward to exposing Cait’s hypocrisy of attacking ICE, while getting paid handsomely by AI and big tech companies that do business with ICE.  

I look forward to having her explain why she opposed expanding the SALT deduction and cutting taxes for working families and seniors by an average of $4,000 a year, while letting illegal immigrants access taxpayer-funded healthcare.  

I look forward to questioning her about why she believes she knows how to keep local communities safe better than our local law enforcement, and wants to block them from communicating and cooperating with federal immigration officials. 

I look forward to challenging her embrace of Kathy Hochul’s bone-headed energy policy that has driven costs through the roof. 

And I look forward to contrasting my record as the 4th most bipartisan lawmaker in the entire Congress with Cait’s stated belief that Republicans are ‘the greatest threat to America and our future’ and an enemy from within. Frankly, that is disqualifying rhetoric for someone seeking to represent one of the most politically-balanced and competitive districts in the country.”

Concluded Lawler: “So, c’mon Cait… let’s debate!”

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