In true New York fashion, scandals have dominated the headlines surrounding some of the country’s most competitive House races. Will any of it matter on Election Day? Sources are leaning toward no.
Mike Lawler became the first Republican to represent New York’s 17th Congressional District in 30 years in 2022. He won that race by just 1,800 votes. At the beginning of this month, a photo of Lawler in blackface was published by The New York Times. Despite the criticism he faced at the time, sources expect Lawler to face very little backlash for that photo at the voting booths.
“The Lawler question is moot. That’s over,” Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic political strategist, said. “The population in that district is not focused on that.”