OSSINING, NY – A new independent poll released Friday showed that congressional candidate Cait Conley is the only Democrat who can defeat Rep. Mike Lawler in New York’s 17th District.
In a head-to-head matchup, Cait leads Lawler 47% to 42%, making her the strongest challenger in one of the nation’s most competitive House races.
By contrast, in a matchup between Lawler and Democratic candidate Beth Davidson, Lawler leads 47% to 42%, highlighting Cait’s unique strength and clear advantage in a general election. The generic vote for Congress in this district is tied (44% Democrat, 44% Republican). While Davidson underperforms the generic Democrat, Cait overperforms, demonstrating her ability to win over voters across the aisle.
This poll comes as Cait continues to cement her frontrunner status in the Democratic primary. In Q3, Cait raised more than $525,000, raising over $1.34 million in just over six months and making her the 7th highest fundraising Democratic challenger in the country for the 2026 cycle. Since launching her campaign, Cait has outraised every primary opponent, broken fundraising records, and has earned major national endorsements from VoteVets, The Next 50, New Politics, LPAC, Serve America, and Majority Democrats. She has also earned the support of numerous elected officials in the district including Mayors Kathleen E. Foley, Chris Winward, and Bruce Tucker as well as former NY-17 candidate Jessica Reinmann.
All signs point in the same direction: Cait Conley is the only candidate with the momentum to flip NY-17 and send Mike Lawler packing next November.
About Cait Conley:
Cait Conley is a fourth-generation Hudson Valley native and the daughter of a postal worker and a construction worker. She is a decorated combat veteran and national security expert who has spent her life answering the call to serve. That call began on 9/11, when, as a junior in high school, she watched the Twin Towers fall. The next day, she started the process for applying to West Point — earning acceptance and becoming the first in her family to graduate college and then going on later to attend graduate programs at Harvard and MIT. Cait served 16 years as an active duty Army officer, deploying six times to take down the world’s most dangerous terrorists, and later led counterterrorism efforts on the National Security Council and at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Throughout her career, Cait has been called upon to solve the toughest problems and fix things that are broken. That’s why Cait is running for Congress — to fix a broken system and fight for a better future for New Yorkers.
Learn more about Cait online at CaitConley.com.
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