Lawler Declares Victory In 97th NY Assembly Race

This article was updated at 1 p.m.

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY —

With 100 percent of election districts reporting, all of early voting counted, and fewer than 15,000 absentees to be counted, the Republican candidate for State Assembly District 97 declared victory over his Democratic opponent on Wednesday.

Mike Lawler said incumbent Ellen Jaffee could not overcome his lead of 7,576 votes.

“I’m humbled by the strong support we’ve received from voters from every community across the 97th Assembly District," Lawler said in a statement. “In supporting my candidacy, voters made it emphatically clear they want a new voice representing Rockland County in Albany and want to restore common sense and balance to state government.

“Our campaign focused on three major issues - affordability, public safety, and education - and Rockland County voters have made it clear that these issues are top priorities for them in Albany.

“I thank Assemblywoman Jaffee for her decades of service to Rockland County residents and look forward to speaking with her regarding the transition of leadership."

As of 10:04 a.m. Wednesday, Michael Lawler held 55 percent of the vote and Jaffee, held 39 percent according to the New York Board of Elections.

The 97th covers Orangetown and part of the town of Ramapo.

"I am grateful for the overwhelming support of voters from across the 97th Assembly District," Lawler told Patch at 2:36 a.m. "I am confident, after all of the votes are counted, I will win this election. I look forward to the opportunity to serve the people of Rockland County and fight on their behalf in Albany."

Lawler, 34, has been Orangetown's Deputy Town Supervisor since 2018. He is a partner in Checkmate Strategies, a lobbying firm. He was campaign manager for Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino's gubernatorial campaign in 2014 and served as Assistant to the County Executive in Westchester from 2015-16. Before that he was executive director of the New York Republican State Committee (2011-14) and special assistant to the chairman (2009-11).

Still left to be counted are all mailed-in absentee ballots. Under New York law, mailed-in ballots may be received up to seven days after the election — this year, Nov. 10 — as long as they are postmarked by Election Day.

Also, a New York voter may vote in person even after casting an absentee ballot. That is another reason why absentee ballots cannot be counted until after all in-person votes are cast.

Keep checking back with Patch as absentee and other paper ballots are counted.