Rockland County legislator Beth Davidson has come under fire for leading an “amateur hour” campaign after walking back her previous claim that Republican New York Rep. Mike Lawler voted to cut funding for a public works project in his district.
Davidson, one of several Democratic candidates running to unseat Lawler in the battleground House district, alleged that the two-term congressman had voted to eliminate federal dollars for a water quality improvement project in the Hudson Valley seat. But after a series of X posts intended to expose Lawler for allegedly failing to deliver on the funding for his constituents, Davidson ultimately conceded that the GOP lawmaker had indeed secured money for the project during the previous fiscal year.
“[A]s Jerry Orbach famously said in Dirty Dancing, when I’m wrong I say I’m wrong,” Davidson wrote on X Thursday, citing a line from a 1987 film.
Lawler, who comfortably defeated former New York Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones in November, has secured funding for public works projects in New York’s 17th District through congressionally-directed spending, commonly known as “earmarks.” He successfully steered nearly $36 million in community project funding to his district during the fiscal year 2024 appropriations process, four times larger than what his Democratic predecessor had secured during the 117th Congress, according to a March 2024 statement.
Lawler notably issued a press release about securing the roughly $2 million award for the clean water project as part of his congressionally-directed spending requests in June 2024.
“Projects like these, while not flashy, are more important than almost any other,” Lawler said in the release.
Despite Lawler obtaining the federal dollars for the project during the fiscal year 2024 appropriations process, Davidson accused the GOP lawmaker of voting to eliminate money for the same project by supporting a March spending bill that funded the government for the remainder of fiscal year 2025.
Lawler pointed out multiple times that Davidson’s claims were inaccurate and she was mixing up the fiscal year he secured the funding.
One of Davidson’s tweets with an accompanying screenshot alleging the clean water project had been defunded by Lawler has since been deleted from the Democratic candidate’s X page after the Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to her campaign for a request for comment.
Though the award date for the clean water project was not readily apparent in an image Davidson posted, Lawler and his campaign have accused Davidson of intentionally misleading voters and questioned if she understood the basics of how to read a budget.
“Before Beth Davidson lectures anyone on how government works, she should learn how to read a budget and tell the difference between two fiscal years,” Chris Russell, campaign spokesman for Lawler, told the DCNF in a statement.
The allegations began with Davidson smirking in front of a road sign thanking Lawler for securing federal dollars for a clean water project in the district.
“Driving thru Putnam County and what to my wondering eyes should appear but a sign touting Mike Lawler’s now-defunded clean water project,” Davidson wrote on X Wednesday. “Oh dear!”
“Delete your post and do better,” Lawler said in a response stating that he secured funding for the public works program during the previous fiscal year.
The following morning on Thursday, Davidson took another jab at Lawler in the since-deleted post for allegedly voting to defund the same water quality improvement project. Lawler pointed out for a second time that the award money was part of the $36 million that he helped secure in fiscal year 2024.
“How do you expect people to take you seriously as a congressional candidate if you don’t understand the difference between fiscal years and intentionally lie to people?” Lawler asked in reply. “Furthermore, all of the FY25 projects are being resubmitted, and despite your bizarre cheerleading against them, will be delivered to the municipalities as promised.”
Davidson also accused Lawler of voting to “rip away” the $33 million in community project funding by voting for the GOP spending bill. She doubled down on the claim when pressed by the DCNF about its accuracy.
“Mike Lawler voted for the fiscal year 2025 Continuing Resolution that gutted funding for all $33 million that he falsely claimed he ‘secured’ for NY17,” Davidson told the DCNF. “The Fiscal Year 2025 Putnam project that Mike Lawler voted to defund was $4 million to replace a 60-year old water treatment facility and reduce toxic PFAOs in the drinking water that goes to Carmel’s hospital and high school.”
Lawler requested roughly $33 million in community project funding for New York’s 17th District for fiscal year 2025. However, after Congressional leaders failed to come to an agreement on passing appropriations bills through regular order, Republican lawmakers passed a stopgap government funding bill in March to avert a looming government shutdown. That funding measure, known as a continuing resolution, did not include earmark requests from any lawmaker and largely kept government spending at current levels.
Lawler — and other lawmakers from both parties — are expected to resubmit requests to secure federal funding for community projects in their districts in future appropriation cycles.
Republican lawmakers, including Lawler, have blamed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for failing to take up the appropriations bills that passed the House last Congress, which in part prevented the FY25 congressionally-directed spending from being signed into law.
“Davidson can also thank fellow clueless New York Democrat Chuck Schumer for this mess,” Russell said. “He’s the one who failed to pass a single appropriations bill through the Senate, resulting in the need for a CR to keep the government funded and open.”
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), who is expected to aggressively defend Lawler’s seat, criticized Davidson for seeking to “fearmonger and lie about her opponent,” in a statement to the DCNF.
“This is an amateur hour campaign from a radical candidate, and voters will reject her resoundingly,” NRCC spokesperson Maureen O’Toole said.
Lawler is one of 35 Republican incumbents that House Democrats’ campaign arm is seeking to defeat during the midterms. He is one of three Republican congressmen that won in November despite former Vice President Kamala Harris carrying their district, which Trump lost by less than a percentage point.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report’s early estimate of the race rates the contest as “Lean Republican.”
Lawler was ranked as the sixth most effective lawmaker in the House of Representatives in the 118th Congress despite being a freshman representative, according to the nonpartisan Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) jointly managed by the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University. The CEL found that he was the most effective lawmaker among all members in their first term during the previous congress that concluded in December.
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