Exclusive | GOP NY Rep. Lawler claims Dem rival Cait Conley is carpetbagger in sync with Hochul, Mamdani, AOC

Hudson Valley GOP Rep.Mike Lawler has accused Dem foe Cait Conley of being a carpetbagger in sync with fellow lefties unpopular in his district, from Gov.

Kathy Hochul to Big Apple Mayor Zohran Mamdani.“It’s safe to say Hochul, Mamdani, [Rep.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] and [Sen.

Chuck] Schumer will be making appearances in our advertising,” Lawler recently told The Post editorial board.Lawler and Conely are locked in a reported neck-and-neck race that has become one of the most closely watched in the country — and could determine which party controls the House of Representatives next year.Conley, an Army veteran and West Point grad, is just another liberal Democrat who supports the government “takeover” of health care and backs Hochul’s “Sanctuary State” policies, which severely limit New York law enforcement from cooperating with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, Lawler claimed.On her campaign website, Conley said she supports “allowing everyone to opt in to a public insurance option” but does not favor a complete government takeover.Conley meanwhile backs revoking so-called “287g agreements” that allow local police to help ICE with immigration enforcement and has spoken against “the terrorization of our immigrant communities.”Lawler said he opposes Hochul’s “Sanctuary State” policies and a new state law that bars such cooperation.“You can’t claim to be a moderate of you’re supporting the core of what these people are advocating,” he said of Democratic leaders in New York.He said the Democratic Party’s “death march” toward socialism is not popular in his 17th Congressional District, which encompasses Rockland, Putnam and parts of Westchester and Dutchess counties, where large segment of households have family members who are police officers, firefighters or veterans.Lawler also accused Conley, who was raised in the greater Hudson Valley, of moving into his district just to run for Congress.“She parach...