Freshman Congressman Mike Lawler said lower Hudson Valley voters should send him back to Washington, D.C., for another term because of his stance on taxes, border security and public safety.
The Republican posted Wednesday that there is a tough choice between him and Democrat Mondaire Jones in the battle for New York's 17th Congressional District, one of the most closely watched races in the state. He told the paper's editorial board.
“He wants to raise taxes with a focus on affordability,” Lawler said of Jones, a one-term former congressman who is trying to make a comeback in the battleground district.
Lawler said he would fight to preserve the tax cuts and at least those approved by former President Donald Trump and the Republican-led Congress in 2017.
These tax breaks expire at the end of 2025.
Lawler said that under the Trump administration, corporate taxes were lowered from 28% to 21%, but under Democratic White House nominee and current Vice President Kamala Harris, corporate taxes could be raised back to up to 28%. He said that there is a sex.
Lawler said Democrats are also considering raising income taxes on high earners.
He said Jones, along with Vice President and Democratic White House candidate Kamala Harris, wants to restore corporate taxes from 21% to 28% and also raise income taxes on high earners.
“This would be the largest tax increase in American history,” Lawler said.
“He wants the Trump tax cuts to expire.”
The 17th Congressional District, which includes Putnam and Rockland counties, parts of Westchester County and Dutchess, is one of the few districts in deep blue New York that experts think could go either way. It will help decide which party controls the House of Representatives next year. .
The close race has brought the debate to the center of attention, and Jones has campaigned as a policy moderate on a decidedly progressive platform since taking office in 2021.
Lawler said Jones' record includes “defunding the police” and is currently friends with the far-left “Squad” and Democratic Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He said that he avoids past statements and relationships, including relationships.
Republicans have the support of virtually every union representing law enforcement and emergency responders, including the New York City PBA. Many Big Apple police officers and firefighters live in this area.
Lawler said he has a strong record of supporting Israel in Congress, including introducing and passing legislation to protect the Jewish state.
Mr. Jones and the Democratic Party have tried to link Mr. Lawler to Mr. Trump, an effective tactic in a campaign held several years ago in some suburbs north of the city, but polls show the lawmaker is losing ground. He says he can no longer hold back.
“This is not 2020,” Lawler said.
He said voters rarely bring up the former president, except for those who dislike him.
Lawler even joked that many voters who saw Trump's TV ads liked it, praising him as “awesome.”
Lawler, meanwhile, said single-party Democratic control of the state Capitol in Albany is a disaster for New York, and those policies are included in the vote.
He called the former governor. Andrew Cuomo's decision to force the closure of Westchester's Indian Point nuclear power plant was “stupid” and would cut off a major power supply to New York City and the region's growing power needs.
Lawler also predicted that Gov. Kathy Hochul will reverse course again after the Nov. 5 election and reinstate a planned congestion charge for entry into midtown Manhattan.
In June, Hochul suspended the proposal “indefinitely.”
He said Hochul delayed it as a political ploy at the behest of House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who feared a backlash against House Democrats on the vote.
Lawler said it's not a question of who supports stricter border enforcement.
“[Jones] He supported open borders but sought to defund ICE [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement] He called ICE agents terrorists,” the congressman said.
