The gloves were off.<\/p>\n
Hudson Valley Rep. Mike Lawler ripped his Democratic challenger Cait Conley<\/a> over her support for sanctuary state policies and portrayed her as a phony New Yorker in their final debate.<\/p>\n The two candidates for New York\u2019s hotly contested 17th Congressional District came out swinging for the Wednesday night televised showdown on Pix11<\/a>, trading barbs over ICE and President Trump\u2019s immigration agenda.<\/p>\n Lawler, the Republican incumbent seeking his third term, said the high-profile ICE shooting last week<\/a> in the Big Apple could have been prevented if local law enforcement were able to cooperate with federal immigration officers.<\/p>\n Incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Lawler faced off against Democratic challenger Cait Conley for their final NY-17 debate on Oct. 14, 2026. PIX11 News<\/p>\n \u201cKathy Hochul\u2019s disastrous new law \u2014 which Conley supports \u2014 prohibits cooperation,\u201d fumed Lawler.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re talking about a gangbanger who came into this country illegally,\u201d Lawler said, referring to Oscar Begal, the Dominican Republic native and alleged Trinitarios gang member shot by ICE agents in The Bronx as he tried to evade arrest<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cYou want accountability, so do I. Let\u2019s start by actually enforcing the law in this country,\u201d Lawler said.<\/p>\n He attacked Conley, saying she \u201cran around\u201d a question by the parents of Sheridan Gorman, a Westchester County college student killed by an illegal migrant in Chicago<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happened to Sheridan Gorman should never have happened,\u201d Conley replied after Lawler repeatedly pressed her.<\/p>\n \u201cHe should\u2019ve been deported. He should\u2019ve been turned over to federal immigration officials,\u201d Conley finally conceded, referring to Gorman\u2019s killer.<\/p>\n Conley repeatedly tried to connect Lawler to the president<\/a>, saying, \u201cHe votes with Donald Trump 100% of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n Incumbent Republican Mike Lawler and Democratic challenger Cait Conley are running for a New York seat. PIX11 News<\/p>\n Lawler countered by noting his bipartisan voting record.<\/p>\n The incumbent also tried to paint Conley \u2014 who grew up in the greater Hudson Valley, attended West Point and then moved out-of-state for work \u2014 as a carpetbagger.<\/p>\n \u201cI know you just moved here from Virginia,\u201d Lawler sniped during one of many snide digs the two exchanged.<\/p>\n Incumbent Republican Mike Lawler and Democratic challenger Cait Conley address key issues facing New Yorkers, Oct. 14, 2026. PIX11 News<\/p>\n Conley returned to New York after living and working in Washington, DC, in national security after serving in the Army.<\/p>\n The candidates were neck and neck going into the debate, with most polls finding them<\/a> separated by a mere two points \u2014 and Conley was leading, 48% to 46%.<\/p>\n That tight spread meant the stakes of Wednesday\u2019s debate were higher than ever, with Emerson College Polling finding<\/a> 7% of voters undecided \u2014 more than enough people to sway and tip the scales for a win.<\/p>\n Incumbent Republican Mike Lawler and Democratic challenger Cait Conley address topics on New Yorkers\u2019 minds as Lawler fights to hold onto his seat. PIX11 News<\/p>\n Wednesday\u2019s debate came just two weeks after their first showdown<\/a>, where Lawler pressed Conley hard regarding her allegiance to sanctuary policies \u2014 a hot topic in the district that was home to Gorman, the 18-year-old Loyola University student murdered by an illegal migrant in Chicago last March.<\/p>\n Gorman\u2019s parents in the first debate asked the candidates where they stood on the state\u2019s sanctuary policies<\/a> that resist local cooperation with federal immigration authorities.<\/p>\n Conley hemmed and hawed before Lawler jumped in.<\/p>\n Incumbent Republican Mike Lawler is fighting to hold onto his seat against Democratic challenger Cait Conley. PIX11 News<\/p>\n \u201cWhat you didn\u2019t hear from Cait was an answer to your question,\u201d Lawler said. \u201cShe does support<\/a> Kathy Hochul\u2019s new law.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe would not support federal legislation to end sanctuary policies,\u201d he added. \u201cLet me be very clear, I stand with you. I am against Kathy Hochul\u2019s disastrous new law and I support any legislation that will end sanctuary jurisdictions in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n New York\u2019s 17th district covers a large territory, stretching from the White Plains border as far north as Hopewell Junction and includes a chunk of Westchester County.<\/p>\n Wednesday\u2019s debate came just two weeks after their first showdown, where Lawler pressed Conley hard regarding her allegiance to sanctuary policies. PIX11 News<\/p>\n