Conley, Dems ride crest of blue tsunami

Lawler concedes to Conley in District 17 race for House

Cait Conley takes the stage at her victory celebration. JEFF MORRIS PHOTO

By JEFF MORRIS

Democrat Cait Conley has defeated two-term Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in the 17th Congressional District. 

The Army combat veteran’s victory came as Democrats flipped seats nationwide, winning control of the House and Senate in what many analysts were calling a rebuke of President Donald Trump.

The hotly contested race came to a surprisingly early end a few minutes before 11 p.m. on Tuesday, when Lawler conceded — before any of the major news outlets had called the race. 

It was especially unexpected on a day that began with nearly all of the ballot scanners in Westchester County not working. 

Rep. elect Cait Conley is besieged by well-wishers at her victory party. JEFF MORRIS PHOTO

The problem led to paper ballots being held in special contingency bags and later transferred to locked boxes, to be moved to the Westchester County Board of Elections under police escort for eventual counting.

Despite the bulk of Westchester votes not having been counted, Lawler could see that the results of early voting — combined with the totals from Rockland County, a portion of Dutchess County, Putnam County and the few votes that could be tallied in Westchester — offered no practical path to victory.

Though unofficial results on Tuesday from the New York State Board of Elections showed him actually winning in the other counties with all their districts reporting, his margins there were not enough to overcome the overall trend. 

“When all of the votes are counted tomorrow in Westchester, it’s going to be pretty clear that we will be short,” he told supporters in Rockland.

Across the Hudson River, Conley’s supporters filled Club Infinity in Pleasantville. They cheered enthusiastically each time a Democratic victory appeared on the big TV screens and let out a particularly deafening roar when Conley finally appeared 20 minutes before midnight.

“I’ve asked you throughout this to show courage, to recognize the moment, to understand that we have a responsibility in this time to fight for our country like the generations before us have,” Conley told her energized crowd. “And you answered that call. And because of that, we showed this district a level of love and tenacity that it has not seen before. And because of that, we won.”

“When we talk about the America we are fighting for, it is an America that works for working people,” she continued, “and the only way we get a Washington that’s working for working people again is if we change who’s in Washington.”

She made the point that as much as she talked about what they were fighting against, “what really fuels this and drives it is what we are fighting for,” concluding, “What has been broken, we can and will fix. What they have torn down, we will build back even stronger. And that work begins tomorrow.”

Conley then came off the stage and began hugging supporters, who crowded around her. She posed for pictures and selfies, taking some of them herself. The embraces went on for the better part of an hour, and by the end, it was clear that she had attained a kind of rock-star status among those who had gathered.