Overview
- Conley secured the Democratic nomination in the June 23 primary and will challenge two-term Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in the November general election.
- Conley is a U.S. Army veteran and served as director of counterterrorism on the Biden administration’s National Security Council, and she campaigned on lowering housing costs, expanding childcare affordability, and broadening access to health care.
- Lawler holds the advantage of incumbency and a May endorsement from President Trump, and his campaign has attacked Conley for her association with the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
- New York’s 17th District spans parts of Westchester, Rockland, Putnam and Dutchess counties and combines affluent suburbs with denser, less affluent communities, creating a patchwork electorate that has swung between parties.
- National parties and outside groups view the race as critical to control of the U.S. House, and the contest is expected to attract major fundraising and multimillion‑dollar ad and field investments this fall.