Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) is in one of the most closely watched House races in the country, and with less than two weeks to go, he’s been trading insults with his own Republican constituents on Facebook.
The fight began in “Making Rockland Great Again,” a local Facebook group. Group administrator Matt Sloboda posted a list titled “Reasons that I, as a Republican, will not be voting for Mike Lawler.”
“Mike thinks the ‘R’ on your voter registration means ‘Ramapo,’” Sloboda wrote, referring to the Rockland County town. He promised “episode 2” later in the week.
An account under Lawler’s name, showing his campaign banner, replied directly.
“This post is comical Matt,” Lawler wrote. “I’ve done more to represent Rockland County, all of Rockland, than any member of Congress we’ve had.”
He listed his record, including lifting the cap on the state and local tax deduction, closing more than 10,000 constituent cases and holding more than 2,000 in-person events. Then he made his pitch.
“And yes, if I lose, we are definitely losing the House,” Lawler wrote. “My seat is vital to being able to keep the majority.”
Sloboda answered with a chart of federal funding Lawler had secured. It showed $23.1 million going to Ramapo and nothing to Stony Point.
“Are these the millions you’ve brought back to our towns?” Sloboda asked. “23 million to 1 town is pretty wild.”
Lawler responded with a long list of projects he said are coming, including more than $8 million for sidewalks in Haverstraw and $2 million for wastewater work in Stony Point. He said the projects are “based entirely on what the municipalities submit to us.”
“I don’t make up the numbers or the projects,” he wrote.
The exchange got much nastier with Stacey Maher, another commenter, who said she had voted for Lawler and President Donald Trump three times each but was backing other candidates this year.
In a separate comment, she accused Lawler of “veiled threats to my family” and said he “can’t stomach anyone who refuses to take a knee to your imaginary throne.”
“Win or lose, you’ve made one thing abundantly clear: to you, Rockland is nothing but a transaction, and the only person you’re interested in serving is yourself,” she wrote.
Lawler didn’t hold back.
“Stacey Maher you’ve suffered nothing,” he wrote. “If anything you’ve driven yourself crazy spending every day on Facebook fomenting hate, complaining, and whining for years.”
He also went after her son, a local party committee member, saying he “doesn’t need mommy defending him” and “chose to run his mouth repeatedly and attack elected officials and party leaders.” He also claimed Maher is “a registered Democrat.”
“Lmao — you don’t upset me in the least,” Lawler wrote. “Wishing you well over the next 11 days as you play keyboard warrior.”
Screenshots of the exchanges spread on X after the local account Monsey Politics shared them.
"WOW!" the account wrote before adding, "Congressman Mike Lawler is responding on a local page to a self-described Republican voter who says he will not vote for Lawler."