Westchester County Democratic leaders are making no endorsement in the primary race to take on Republican Rep. Mike Lawler after deliberating between two candidates from a field of five.
The party’s executive committee met to make that choice on Wednesday, April 15, but members were split in support for Cait Conley and Beth Davidson while a “substantial” group opposed making any endorsement and abstained from voting, Democratic Chairwoman Suzanne Berger told the USA TODAY Network.
That meant neither Conley nor Davidson cleared the 50% threshold needed to claim the county party’s backing.
How Westchester Democratic leaders voted in NY-17 primary endorsement tally
The vote by 26 committee members from New York’s 17th Congressional District took place at the party’s White Plains office after presentations by both Davidson and Conley. The other Democrats in the primary — Mike Sacks, Effie Phillips-Staley and John Cappello — were also invited, but none of the three sought the committee’s endorsement, Berger said.
The five are running in a June 23 primary to decide which Democrat will take on the second-term incumbent for a critical toss-up seat in this year’s midterm elections. The 17th District takes in all of Rockland and Putnam counties, the northern half of Westchester and a few towns in Dutchess County.
How much campaign cash is being raised?
Conley, an Army combat veteran and former national security official, leads the field in campaign cash in the latest fundraising reports filed by Wednesday, April 15. Conley’s campaign reported taking in $731,000 in the first three months of this year and having $1.5 million on hand as of March 31.
Davidson, who’s a Rockland County legislator, was in second with $858,000 in her account after raising $361,000 in the first quarter of 2026.
Lawler is well ahead of both candidates with $4.2 million in his war chest after he raked in $1.5 million from January through March. His report shows that nearly $300,000 from his latest haul came not from his own donors but from three GOP funds that support Republican House members like Lawler with tough re-election races ahead, including Speaker Mike Johnson’s “Grow the Majority” committee.
The March 31 cash balances for the other three Democrats in the race were: Phillip-Staley, $68,000; Sacks, $25,000; Cappello, $13,000.
The next endorsement by a county Democratic committee may come on Monday, April 20, when Putnam’s Democratic leaders are set to vote on the 17th District candidates. In previous votes, members of Rockland County’s executive committee backed Davidson and Dutchess County Democrats endorsed Conley.
Though there will be no county-level endorsement in Westchester, various town and city Democratic committees in the county may weigh in on the race. So far, Conley has won endorsements in Ossining, Peekskill, Lewisboro and Pound Ridge, while Davidson is backed by Democratic committees in North Salem, Bedford and Somers.
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA TODAY Network. Reach him at CMcKenna@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Westchester Dems make no endorsement in primary for Lawler House seat
Reporting by Chris McKenna, New York State Team / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
