Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, left, with left to right, Kelly Johnson, Doina Lawler, Rep. Mike Lawler
By Dan Murphy
The new Speaker of the House, republican Mike Johnson, came to Westchester last week to attend a fund raiser, and lend his support to the reelection of Congressman Mike Lawler. Rep. Lawler, who represents the 17th district, which includes all of Northern Westchester, joined supporters, contributors, and republican elected officials at the home of Tony and Maria Sayegh. Tony Sayegh served in the Trump administration as a Public Affairs official in the US Treasury Department.
“Thank you to Speaker Mike Johnson for visiting the Hudson Valley today for an event in support of my re-election campaign. Throughout my time in Congress, I have been focused on addressing the issues that matter to our district and the families that live in it — tacking the affordability crisis and lifting the cap on SALT; ending the reckless spending and addressing our national debt; securing our border and fixing the immigration system; increasing domestic production of energy; restoring public safety; improving our education system; and supporting allies like Israel while taking on the malign influence of China, Russia, and Iran. While we have a lot of work ahead of us, I look forward to working with Speaker Johnson to address these important issues and more. While the Speaker and I do not agree on everything — as Ed Koch famously said, if you agree with me on 12 of 12 issues, go see a shrink — we do agree about the importance of tackling the big issues impacting our country. I will always fight for our communities here in the Hudson Valley,” stated Lawler.
Outside of the fund raiser, democrats including former Congressman Mondaire Jones, protested Johnson’s appearance in Westchester. Jones, who will be the democratic challenger to Lawler, called Johnson “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
Jones’ primary democratic opponent, Katonah school board member Liz Gereghty, announced last week that she was ending her campaign and endorsing Jones. “Uniting our party and focusing our resources on taking back the House is critical to fighting back against the radical extremism plaguing our politics. In that spirit, I endorse Mondaire Jones’ campaign for Congress.”
Gereghty, whose political claim to fame was that she is the sister of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, had been critical of Jones far-left progressive views, which she said Congressman Lawler would use against him in the upcoming 2024 campaign.
Lawler commented on Gereghty’s withdrawal, saying the fact that “Liz did not find traction in today’s Democratic party speaks volumes. It’s clear New York Democrats would rather support a “defund the police” and open the borders radical, with one of the most extreme, partisan voting records in Congress and proudly referred to himself as a socialist.”
Two years ago, Lawler defeated democrat Sean Patrick Maloney by 1,820 votes out of 285,220 total votes cast.
