Gretchen Whitmer’s sister drops House bid against Lawler in New York

Democratic candidate Liz Whitmer Gereghty dropped her bid to unseat Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) in the competitive House race in New York, all but clearing the way for her primary opponent, Mondaire Jones, to face the incumbent Republican next fall.

Gereghty, the sister of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) and a small businesswoman from Westchester County, New York, withdrew from the race on Wednesday morning, instead endorsing Jones and vowing to support Democratic efforts to reclaim the House majority next year.

CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS SAY KAMALA HARRIS COULD HAVE UPPER HAND OVER GAVIN NEWSOM IF THEY RUN

“I remain committed to doing everything possible to elect Democrats across the board in 2024, especially here in NY-17,” Gereghty said in a statement. “Uniting our party and focusing our resources on taking back the House is critical to fighting back against the radical extremism plaguing our politics.”

Gereghty hit out against Lawler as “anti-choice” and a “shapeshifting extremist” who must be removed from office, stating her No. 1 goal is to reclaim the seat the first-term Republican won in 2022.

“Mike Lawler and his allies are more interested in regulating women than the weapons of war flooding our nation,” she said. “They are working to defund public schools and don’t want you to notice that Congress’ inaction on common sense gun safety legislation impacts your property taxes when schools have to increase spending on security to keep our students safe.”

“We need progress, not performance art,” Gereghty added. “We deserve better.”

The race for Lawler’s seat in New York’s 17th District is considered one of the competitive races of the 2024 cycle and has been rated a toss-up by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. Lawler won the seat in 2022 after defeating former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney, dealing a major blow to Democrats in the midterm elections and helping pave the way for Republicans to seize control of the House.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

All 435 seats are up for grabs in 2024 as Republicans seek to hold their slim majority in the lower chamber. Of these, 45 are considered competitive, with most of those held by Democrats, giving the GOP a slight advantage as it prepares for the next election cycle.

However, of the 45 competitive seats, 18 are held by Republicans in districts that voted for President Joe Biden in 2020, compared to just five Democrats who must defend their seats in districts carried by former President Donald Trump. That means there are just enough vulnerable GOP-held seats to keep things competitive heading into the next election cycle.