Mike Lawler to run for reelection

PEARL RIVER, N.Y. — Rep. Mike Lawler will not run for governor in 2026.  

The second-term Republican from Rockland County — whose district includes all of Rockland and Putnam counties, as well as much of northern Westchester and Dutchess County — told the New York Times on Wednesday he’ll forgo a run for governor next year, and instead, seek a third term in the U.S. House of Representatives.  

“There’s no question [Gov.] Kathy Hochul is the worst governor in America,” Lawler said on Fox & Friends Wednesday morning. “In 2026, she needs to be defeated. But after months of deliberating over this and really working through it, I’ve decided the right thing to do for me and my family, and my district, is to run for reelection.  

He also noted that his seat has been a “crucial” one in the New York swing district in recent elections. Lawler is one of few Republicans who won a seat in a district that Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Kamala Harris won last year. 

Lawler’s decision clears a path for Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, who has also been eyeing a gubernatorial bid. She said on X that she will make a final decision in November on whether she will run. 

In May, President Donald Trump endorsed Lawler for reelection in the 17th Congressional District on his Truth Social platform, calling him “a strong champion and highly effective representative.”  

Putnam County Democrats said the party welcomed a rematch against Lawler in a purple district. “Mike Lawler’s moderate song and dance is a farce, simply a show for the cable viewers,” the Putnam Democratic Committee said in a written statement. “When Trump called, even though the Republicans did not need Lawler’s vote to pass these monstrous bills, he voted for them. He will always put Trump’s will ahead of his constituents.”

In a post on X, Hochul said that Lawler “doesn’t have the spine to face me.”  

A former NYS assemblyman, Lawler first won election to the U.S. House in 2022 in an upset over then chair of the Democratic congressional committee, Sean Patrick Maloney. He defeated Mondaire Jones to win reelection in 2024.