Democrat Cait Conley on challenging GOP Rep. Mike Lawler

Well, it's so important. Control of Congress will be decided in this year's midterm election. And one of the races that could make a big impact is in New York's District 17, which covers parts of Rockland, Putnam, Westchester and Dutchess counties in the lower Hudson Valley. Incumbent Republican Representative Mike Lawler running against Democratic political newcomer and Army veteran Kate Connolly. They faced off in a debate just about a week ago. Joining us right now, Kate Connolly. thank you so much for your service. Oh, thank you for having me. And this is what it's about, continued service. Okay. So tell us a little bit about how you served us in the Army. So I was a junior in high school when the terror attacks of 9-11 happened. And that is what inspired me to go off to West Point. That and I watched Demi Moore and G.I. Jane a lot. So went off four years at West Point, 16 more years in active duty, six tours overseas, is really just the privilege of a lifetime serving our country, leading America's sons and daughters and just doing the right thing, you know, and going out there and taking on the hard fights because we believe in America and the importance of defending it and fighting for it. Well, thank you so much for your service. Let's get now to the topics. Do you want to raise taxes? No. No, I do not. Why do they say all those ads? She wants to raise taxes. I think when the other side doesn't have anything good to run on, They have to try to tear you down. Right. And unfortunately, I'm running against an opponent who is a lifelong political operative. And this is just part of the tactic of lies and spin. I have to tell you, I think voters are sick of it. Look, I come from a family. I was raised by a single mom who was a postal worker raising three girls in the Hudson Valley. The last thing I want to do is make it harder on working families. The opposite. I'm running because politicians in Washington have left families like mine behind. We've got to fix that. So, no, I want to lower taxes. I want to help improve the cost of living crisis that's going on and make it so when you work a full-time job, that's enough to put food on the table, a roof over your head, afford health care, and keep the lights on. And right now it's not. Let's zoom out just a little bit on your district. It voted for Kamala Harris, New York 17, did in 2024, but it sent Mike Lawler to Congress a couple times. So kind of a split-ticket district. why do you think that they're going to choose you this time around our district is about voters choosing a person not a party and when you talk about what i've done my entire life it has been fighting for and serving this country not a person or party and what we've seen out of Mike Lawler all there is someone who has voted 100 percent of the time with Donald Trump's agenda even when it has harmed Hudson Valley families and people want and deserve better and I've had Republicans come up to me and say, you know, I've never voted for a Democrat, but I'm voting for you. You're a veteran and I trust you. Because at the end of the day, I'm doing this because I believe in America and that our best days are still ahead of us. But we're not on the right path right now. And I believe that politicians like Mike Lawler, who got us into this mess, aren't going to get us out of it. You know, artificial intelligence is a big deal here in New York. And we have heard Governor Kathy Hochul sort of look to slow down the data centers. Your opponent calls you the AI candidate, saying some of your consulting work may sort of put you in a biased position when it comes to regulations. How do you respond to that? So the work that I've done has been a continuation of my service, making sure that our soldiers on the front line have the best tools and capabilities possible. And that is what we owe our brave men and women in uniform. And I will always fight for them to make sure they have the best capabilities. When it comes to regulating AI, let's be clear about my opponent. Last year in the one big ugly bill, he voted to prevent states from regulating AI or data centers for a decade. That's not somebody who you can trust is going to do the right thing in Congress. Do you agree with Governor Kathy Hochul's moratorium on data centers? I do believe we need a moratorium on data centers because right now what we're seeing is these data center developers are exploiting our communities. And we have seen in Mike Lawler's Rockland County, five data centers built already, three more on the way. They're exploiting our communities, passing off utility rates to families, and hurting our environment. And so we got to stop it. We got to be looking out for our communities and doing this in a responsible way. But instead, he voted to give data center developers nearly $80 billion in tax breaks. That's not looking out for your community. That's looking out for your billionaire backers. Let's talk about there is a groundswell. A lot of people very excited about your campaign going door knocking all over the place. Are you part of the DSA group? Because everybody talks about you being a socialist and this and the other thing. Where do you stand on all that? I am not a member of the DSA. I'm a proud Army combat veteran and patriot, and I've been very vocal in some very firm disagreements I have with positions I've heard members of the DSA articulate. I am a former military police officer. I believe in law enforcement and supporting our law enforcement. I know that border security is part of national security. And at the end of the day, I'm doing this because I've spent my whole life serving this country. And I think it's on the wrong path right now. America isn't working for working people. And the country that I fought for, that I've lost friends fighting for, it needs to be a lot better than this. And that's why I'm doing this, because working people deserve better. Law enforcement, obviously part of your background here. We just had a big shooting in the city involving ICE agents. Do you support local police working with ICE agents when it comes to trying to identify and bring these, what could be violent criminals into custody? I believe that coordination on criminal activity at the local, state, and federal level is imperative. And going back to as a military police officer, I know the importance of law enforcement, but I have real concerns about some of the tactics we're seeing from federal agents that aren't properly trained, that aren't properly qualified. I will tell you, not just as a law enforcement officer, but as a soldier, you're not shooting into a car where there's a five-year-old child. Like we have higher expectations of our local law enforcement that I believe federal law enforcement should be meeting too. The basic things like wearing body cameras, wearing uniforms, not wearing masks. This is about public safety and we should have the same standards for our local law enforcement as we do our federal. Hey, Conley, thank you so much for coming on and sharing your vision for your area. Appreciate it. Thank you for having me. All right, good luck. And meanwhile, her opponent, Mike Lawler, is going to be joining us on Monday. Oh, all right. There you go. Looking forward to that. Thank you. Thank you very much.