{"id":9024,"date":"2025-05-09T09:17:44","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T09:17:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/mike-lawler-will-go-his-own-way-or-so-he-says\/"},"modified":"2025-05-09T09:17:44","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T09:17:44","slug":"mike-lawler-will-go-his-own-way-or-so-he-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/mike-lawler-will-go-his-own-way-or-so-he-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Lawler will go his own way \u2014 or so he says"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

NEW YORK \u2014 The subtext of President Donald Trump\u2019s recent reelection endorsement of Rep. Mike Lawler appeared clear enough: Stay, fight and keep your battleground New York seat red. Also, shelve your ambitions to become governor.<\/p>\n

But Lawler isn\u2019t interpreting the president\u2019s Truth Social post<\/a> as the decree others have.<\/p>\n

The suburban Republican, after all, has doggedly built his brand as an independent and has long sought to be the first in a generation from his party to win statewide office in conventionally blue New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, my decision is going to be my decision,\u201d Lawler told Blue Light News in an interview the night after Trump\u2019s endorsement. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be based on whether or not I believe there\u2019s a pathway in the general election.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he has no interest \u201cin a kamikaze mission\u201d and will make his call by June. In the meantime, the 38-year-old second-term House member has plenty to tackle in Congress, including raising the state and local tax deduction cap, his calling-card cause<\/a>. He\u2019s calculating that a win on SALT<\/a> could boost his viability statewide, and he\u2019s also factoring in how potential cuts to Medicaid, federal immigration policy and the impact of Trump\u2019s tariffs might impact his political future. But his stated priorities won\u2019t be easy to secure. Republicans are locked in increasingly tense negotiations<\/a> central to Trump\u2019s \u201cbig, beautiful\u201d spending bill.<\/p>\n

Even if he does score key policy wins in the coming months, Lawler will still have a fight on his hands \u2014 regardless of which office he pursues next year.<\/p>\n

Option A: Republicans want to topple Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, but without the messy GOP primary of 2022. Aside from Lawler, upstate Rep. Elise Stefanik and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman are top gubernatorial contenders, and their allegiances to Trump would likely give one of them a primary edge over Lawler. Then, of course, there\u2019s the general election, which would be an uphill battle in its own right, but would likely favor Lawler, the moderate, over Stefanik or Blakeman.<\/p>\n

Option B is also tricky: If Lawler opts to seek a third term in purple Hudson Valley, he\u2019ll do so as one of the country\u2019s most vulnerable House Republicans. The stage for the midterms has been set with town halls packed by constituents outraged<\/a> over Trump\u2019s agenda and a burgeoning field of eager Democratic challengers sharpening their claws.<\/p>\n

Trump \u2014 whose Truth Social posts can make or break political careers \u2014 looms over it all. The president is seeking more influence in his home state, where he built his real estate and TV businesses \u2014 and where Democrats successfully prosecuted him.<\/p>\n

Several New York Republicans told Blue Light News they see his glowing endorsement of Lawler\u2019s House bid as clearing the path for Stefanik to run for governor.<\/p>\n

Trump is closely aligned with the 40-year-old Stefanik, whose nomination for United Nations ambassador he abruptly yanked in March<\/a> to protect Republicans\u2019 slim House majority. Stefanik, a member of House GOP leadership, and Lawler briefly feuded over<\/a> their preferred candidates for her House seat, but both their camps said they\u2019ve since mended fences.<\/p>\n

Did Stefanik ask Trump to weigh in this week on Lawler\u2019s future? She declined to say.<\/p>\n

Would Lawler run for governor without Trump\u2019s blessing? He won\u2019t say.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe knows I\u2019m considering it,\u201d Lawler said. \u201cLook, obviously, his voice matters, and his thoughts on a prospective campaign matter, but that\u2019s a conversation I will have with him at some point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawler told Blue Light News he\u2019s spoken with White House officials but not the president himself since Trump\u2019s Tuesday night Truth Social post.<\/p>\n

In it, the president lauded Lawler as a \u201ctrue America First Patriot\u201d fighting to secure the border and grow the economy, proffering a \u201cComplete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawler is widely viewed as a media-savvy workhorse and the best contender to keep his district out of Democratic hands \u2014 and he has toed the line with Trump. But he\u2019s made exceptions. His willingness to buck his party has included standing up for Ukraine<\/a>, opposing provisions<\/a> that would defund Planned Parenthood and voting with Democrats against a GOP effort<\/a> to block a measure allowing lawmakers with newborns to vote remotely.<\/p>\n

Being tied too closely to the president would hurt him in either general election he\u2019s eying.<\/p>\n

Lawler said he\u2019s grateful for the president\u2019s endorsement, but as of Thursday night had yet to promote it on his own social media accounts. Democrats are spreading the word for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cMike Lawler just received a presidential-level snub from Donald Trump,\u201d Democratic Governors Association spokesperson Kevin Donohoe said in a statement. \u201cDonald Trump, and no one else, will choose New York\u2019s next Republican gubernatorial nominee \u2014 and it\u2019s not going to be Mike Lawler.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republicans who know him said Lawler isn\u2019t afraid to go his own way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only person who will tell Michael whether or not to run for governor will be Michael,\u201d said Dave Catalfamo, a GOP strategist and former top aide to New York\u2019s last Republican governor, George Pataki. \u201cI truly believe that what has made Mike so successful and what has made him attractive as a candidate is his independence.\u201d<\/p>\n

For his part, Lawler has continued to stress his bipartisan record \u2014 even though its mention has invited jeers at the hostile Hudson Valley town halls<\/a> he holds in defiance of GOP guidance<\/a>. Livid attendees have railed at him over proposed cuts to Medicaid and Trump\u2019s deportation plans, with some saying his record doesn\u2019t match his rhetoric and protesters calling him \u201cMAGA Mike.\u201d One constituent in her 60s was forcibly removed<\/a> at his most recent forum. Lawler has said he opposes cuts to Medicaid for \u201celigible\u201d recipients. Ever the political animal, he\u2019s blasted the disruptors as activists and even fundraised on the acrimony by encouraging supporters to text \u201cCRAZY\u201d<\/a> to a campaign number.<\/p>\n

In Washington, with the stakes high over ironing out the Republican spending bill, Lawler\u2019s moderate Democratic colleagues have shown an appreciation for him. This week, he and Long Island Rep. Laura Gillen reintroduced a bill to codify the right<\/a> to access in vitro fertilization.<\/p>\n

At their joint news conference, she suggested he bend Trump\u2019s ear on the legislation as he has on SALT, saying, \u201cHe probably talks to the president more than I do and maybe he can put in a good word.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawler replied good-naturedly, \u201cYou got it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 The subtext of President Donald Trump\u2019s recent reelection endorsement of Rep. Mike Lawler appeared clear enough: Stay, fight and keep your battleground New York seat red. Also, shelve your ambitions to become governor. But Lawler isn\u2019t interpreting the president\u2019s Truth Social post as the decree others have. The suburban Republican, after all, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-congress"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9024\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}