Lawler Announces Re-Election Run For NY Assembly District 97

PEARL RIVER, NY — New York State Assemblyman Mike Lawler announced Friday that he will seek re-election in November.

Lawler said that he was humbled by the encouragement he received to consider running for higher office. With Democrats in the majority in Washington and Albany, he said in a news release, "we've seen a radical socialist ideology take control of our government."

"But there is still so much more work that needs to be done and at this time, I believe the best way that I can serve our community is by continuing that work," he said. "After careful consideration and many discussions with my wife, my family, friends, colleagues, supporters, and team, I have decided to officially announce my campaign for re-election to the New York State Assembly."

Since taking office in January 2021, he said, he has worked to ensure Rockland County gets its fair share of state aid for education.

He said he also worked to ensure every child has access to a quality, affordable education, to back law enforcement and fix a broken criminal justice system, and to push back "on the radical socialist agenda that has made our state less prosperous, less free, and less safe."

Lawler, 35, was not happy about the new borders of the 97th District. He accused Democrats of trying to gerrymander it, saying they "took away whole communities from my district, including where I grew up." His family moved from Nanuet to Suffern when he was a child. He now lives in Pearl River.

The current district, just re-drawn, no longer covers western Rockland County.

Compared to the district as redrawn after the last Census, in 2012:

Twenty years ago, the district mostly represented Orange County and included only westernmost Rockland County in its borders:

Lawler, a political consultant with the firm Checkmate Strategies, has deep political ties outside the district's borders.

He was one of the leaders of the successful 2021 campaign to elect Putnam County Sheriff Kevin McConville. Previously, he served as executive director of the State Republican Party working to elect candidates at federal, state, and local levels.

He managed Westchester resident Rob Astorino's 2014 campaign against disgraced former NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which received attention for holding the then-popular and powerful politician to just an 11 point spread. Lawler's campaign mailing address is a South Salem post office box, as is Astorino's current campaign for governor.