6 days ago
Seven Democrats vying to run for Mike Lawler's House seat. Here are the contenders
One by one they threw their hats in the ring: a crowd of Democrats eager for a shot at the House seat held by Republican Mike Lawler in one of the country's most competitive districts.
The field of Democratic contenders for New York's 17th Congressional District had grown to seven by early June, with no additions since then. Each is courting party support and raising money long before the 2026 primary for a Hudson Valley seat that Lawler has won twice and Democrats hope to flip in next year's mid-term elections.
One early marker came Tuesday, July 15, when candidates reported how much they collected from April through June — an initial gauge of their support and viability for a costly battle. Two led the pack with big hauls:
Cait Conley, a former national security official and Army combat veteran, raised $480,000
Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson raised $352,000
Yet the newest candidate — Peter Chatzky, a tech company founder and deputy mayor of Briarcliff Manor — vaulted himself into their ranks by lending his campaign $500,000 and raising $180,000 in less than three weeks, according to his campaign.
Lawler's campaign, meanwhile, took in nearly $1.4 million over those same three months, a quarter of which — $360,000 — came from three Republican committees that support GOP House candidates with tough races ahead. Lawler had $2.2 million in his coffers by June 30.
Will Mike Lawler run for a third term in his NY House district?
A big uncertainty still hanging over the race is whether Lawler will run for a third term. He has been weighing a campaign for governor instead, which would take him out of the House race and lift Democrats' chances of claiming his seat. Lawler had planned to announce his decision in June but hasn't said yet which office he will seek.
Westchester County Democrats held a series of forums to introduce the large cast of candidates to party members. Suzanne Berger, Westchester's Democratic chairwoman, said the party is planning a forum with a slightly winnowed lineup of four or five top contenders in September.
Democratic voters in the 17th District — all of Rockland and Putnam counties, half of Westchester and a sliver of Dutchess — ultimately will choose their party's nominee in a primary next June, still 11 months away. Here are the seven Democrats now vying for that role.
Jessica Reinmann
Reinmann, a 49-year-old Chappaqua resident, jumped in first, filing federal paperwork to be a candidate in January as the new House term was just getting under way. She is the founder of 914Cares — a nonprofit that fights poverty in Westchester — and has pitched herself as a problem solver with a "mission-driven" campaign.
Her finance report shows she raised $109,000 and contributed $115,000 of her own to her campaign in the second quarter of the year. She had $443,000 on hand as of June 30.
Beth Davidson
Davidson, a 52-year-old Nyack resident, has been a county legislator since 2024 and served two terms on the Nyack school board before then. She joined the race in February with an early endorsement by former Rep. Mondaire Jones, who represented the 17th District before its lines were redrawn in 2022 and who lost a comeback bid against Lawler last year.
Davidson, who has long been active in politics, has since rounded up endorsements from a few dozen elected officials and Democratic leaders from Rockland County, along with a litany of activists from around the district.
She reported raising $352,000 in the second quarter and finishing with $489,000 in her coffers. She had raised a total of $855,000 during her five months in the race — the highest overall sum of the candidates.
Cait Conley
Conley, a 39-year-old Ossining resident, worked in the Biden administration for four years, first as director of counterterrorism for the National Security Council and then as senior advisor for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. She's a West Point graduate who served 16 years in the Army, with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
She has been endorsed by the progressive veterans' group VoteVets and a pair of forward-looking Democratic groups: New Politics and the Next 50.
Conley reported raising $480,000 in the last three months and $816,000 overall since entering the race in March. She had $614,000 in her coffers by June 30.
Mike Sacks
Sacks, a 42-year-old Croton-on-Hudson resident, is a former journalist who has covered the Supreme Court and was a TV reporter for Fox 5 New York for four years. He now works as a "pro-democracy advocate and constitutional analyst."
Sacks joined the race in April and has since raised $212,000, finishing the second quarter with $102,000 in his coffers.
John Sullivan
Sullivan, a 41-year-old Piermont resident, is a former FBI analyst who quit the agency after 17 years because of what he said was the chaos caused by the new Trump administration. He then moved to Rockland County from the Washington, D.C. area and launched his bid for Congress, after declaring he could better serve the FBI "from the outside."
Sullivan reported raising $301,000 since joining the race in April, the third highest total. He had $164,000 on hand after expenses.
Effie Phillips-Staley
Phillips-Staley, a 54-year-old Tarrytown resident, is a longtime nonprofit leader and elected trustee in her Westchester County village. With five candidates already in place, she joined the field in May and set herself apart as a progressive stalwart, rejecting the idea that Democrats must move to the right to win.
She has since raised $52,000 and kicked in $100,000 of her own money, finishing the second quarter with $99,000, according to her campaign. Her spokesman said Phillips-Staley was waging a grassroots bid with no "list of corporations, ultra-rich and Washington establishment figures to seed her operation."
Peter Chatzky
Chatzky, a 64-year-old Briarcliff Manor resident, is the founder and CEO of a financial technology company called Napa Group LLC. He has served for six years as a village trustee — now holding the title of deputy mayor — after an earlier two-year stint as mayor.
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His $500,000 loan to his campaign and spurt of donations in June brought his balance to $674,000. That was the most any of the seven candidates had on hand as of June 30, just ahead of Conley's $614,000.
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach him at cmckenna@
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: The 7 Democrats vying to run for Rep. Mike Lawler's seat: A guide
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