How New York's swing districts voted in congressional races and what that means for the Jews

(New York Jewish Week) — Republican Rep. Mike Lawler retained his seat in New York’s 17th Congressional District in a race that saw both candidates vie for the area’s large Jewish vote and spar over support for Israel.

The race was one of several swing districts in New York State that could sway control of the House.

Lawler defeated Democratic challenger Mondaire Jones in the district, which covers territory north of New York City in Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess and Westchester counties. Lawler won around 57 percent of the vote, 16 points ahead of Jones, and is projected to win in every county in the district.

Lawler has forged close ties with the approximately 30,000 Orthodox Jewish voters in his district, frequently visiting their communities and meeting with their leading rabbis, at one point along with House Speaker Mike Johnson. He has also been vocally supportive of Israel and measures to combat antisemitism, advancing some via bipartisan legislation.

During the campaign, Jones also courted the pro-Israel and Jewish vote and distanced himself from the party’s far left. Earlier this year, Jones endorsed George Latimer in his race against Jamaal Bowman, a former Jones ally and member of the hardline left-wing “Squad,” who has harshly criticized Israel. Jones said he turned against Bowman due to the “pain and anxiety” Bowman had caused to Jews with his remarks about Israel. 

Jones and Bowman both served as progressive Democrats in neighboring districts and both won closely contested primaries in 2020, becoming the first Black men to represent Westchester County in Congress. Jones lost his seat in 2022 after redistricting. After Jones’ endorsement of Latimer, Lawler accused his opponent of “desperation and dishonesty,” though they appeared to be largely aligned on Israel policy. 

Jones and Lawler are largely aligned on their rhetoric about Israel, expressing support for the war against Hamas, and for American Jewish communities. 

The two still traded jabs over the issue during the campaign. Lawler slammed Jones late last month for remarks about Israel returning to its 1967 borders, sending a text message to voters with the URL mondairehatesisrael.com.

Jones put out an ad attacking Lawler for his defense of Donald Trump after Trump, now the president-elect, said Jews would be partly responsible if he lost the election.The video ad showed Jewish constituents highlighting Jones’ support for the community and his opposition to the Squad.

In the neighboring 18th District, Democrat Pat Ryan defeated Republican challenger Alison Esposito with around 56 percent of the vote. The district north of New York City covers Orange County and parts of Dutchess and Ulster Counties, and includes the Hudson Valley cities of Poughkeepsie, Newburgh and Kingston.

During the campaign, Ryan drew fire from some progressives for not demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, with a small number of activists protesting at his offices and at public events. Ryan took a position more closely aligned with Israel, saying in January that he would support a ceasefire if Hamas released Israeli hostages and surrendered.

Esposito attacked Ryan for voting “present” on a Republican congressional resolution that said anti-Zionism was antisemitism, and for accepting support from the far left, accusing Ryan of having a “pro-Hamas stance on Israel.”

Ryan drew the support of Hasidic leaders in the district, many of whom are from the theologically non-Zionist Satmar movement in the town of Kiryas Joel, which has historically voted as a bloc.

In the 19th Congressional District, covering a swath of New York from the Massachusetts border to the Southern Tier, Democrat Josh Riley narrowly defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro, securing slightly more than 50 percent of the vote. The two were largely aligned in their stance toward Israel and the Middle East conflict, advocating for the end of Hamas rule in Gaza and the return of the hostages. Both attended pro-Israel events during the campaign.

In 2022, Molinaro defeated Riley in a razor-thin vote. 

Other Jewish and pro-Israel candidates in blue areas of New York defeated their Republican rivals as expected.

In Manhattan’s 12th District, covering the Upper West Side and Upper East Side, Rep. Jerrold Nadler trounced Republican Michael K. Zumbluskas, winning around 80 percent of the vote.

Pro-Israel stalwart Rep. Ritchie Torres kept his seat in the 15th Congressional District in the Bronx, winning around 76 percent of the vote. Latimer won his election as expected, cruising to victory over Republican Miriam Flisser in the deep blue 16th District in the Bronx and Westchester.

Tom Suozzi, a pro-Israel Democrat in Long Island and Queens’ 3rd Congressional District, defeated Republican Michael LiPetri, winning around 51 percent of the vote. Suozzi won a closely watched race earlier this year in the district against Israeli-American Mazi Pilip, after George Santos was expelled from Congress for massive lies about his life and background.