Republican Rep. Mike Lawler has nearly $5 million in his campaign war chest as he faces off against Democrat US Army veteran Cait Conley in a battleground House race.
The GOP incumbent’s $4.85 million in campaign funds was more than four times the $1 million Conley had on hand ahead of the November 3 election.
But Conley had to spend resources to win a competitive five-way Democratic primary for the nomination last month.
Still, Conley brought in $1.6 million from April through June of this year compared to $1.4 million for Lawler, who is seeking re-election to a third term in the Hudson Valley’s key 17th House District.
Records show she has so far raised $3.2 million for the campaign cycle.
The Lawler for Congress campaign, meanwhile, has raised nearly $8 million. Combined with the campaign’s joint fundraising committees, its total for the 2025-26 cycle is nearly $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, Lawler’s campaign manager.
“Nearly 5,000 individual donors gave to Mike this quarter, the kind of grassroots muscle that wins tough races.”
Riccardi claimed Lawler was well positioned to get re-elected.
“Cait Conley is entering the grueling run into Election Day with 1/5th of the resources Congressman Lawler has at his disposal,” he said, adding the Dem 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,” Riccardi said.
“While Cait Conley sprints to the left to keep AOC [socialist Rep.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] 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 added.
“He’ll have every resource he needs to share his record and win in November.”
The Conley campaign had no immediate comment, but told Politico that she was “incredibly grateful for the overwhelming support we’ve received across the Hudson Valley and the country.”
Democrats are expected to raise millions of dollars to help Conley reclaim the seat, which could help determine which party controls the House of Representatives after the 2026 midterms.
The independent Cook Political Report rates the race as a toss-up in what could be one of the marquee House contests in the country.
A House Democratic poll released last week claimed Conley held a 6 point lead, 51% to 45% over Lawler among likely voters in a district that includes Rockland and Putnam counties, northern Westchester County and parts of southern Dutchess County.
Meanwhile, Republican Michael LiPetri, who is challenging Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi in a rematch for Long Island’s 3rd Congressional District, raised $1 million across all campaign committees, including joint party committee support.
He had $835,000 in cash on hand.
Suozzi’s latest filing was not available on Tuesday. The reports are due to be filed with the Federal Elections Commission on Wednesday.
But according to most recent campaign data through June 3, Suozzi had $5.5 million in cash on hand.
LiPetri came within 3% of defeating Suozzi two years ago, despite being significantly outspent.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the Republican candidate for governor, could aid LiPetri if he does well at the top of the ticket in the district in his bid against Democratic incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul, as GOP gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin did in 2022.
Recently, Vice President JD Vance came to Long Island, praising LiPetri and slamming Suozzi.
“People are tired of career politicians like Tom Suozzi who have made millions trading stocks in Congress while raising our taxes and creating a financial mess for our future,” LiPetri said.
The 3rd House District includes Long Island’s North Shore and parts of Suffolk and Queens.
