A noted GOP lawmaker made a startling admission this week, taking many of his colleagues by surprise.
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., acknowledged this week that he was arrested in 2012 on a drunken driving charge.
The 39-year-old Hudson Valley Republican, who represents one of the nation’s most competitive House districts, said he was stopped and charged with driving while intoxicated after drinking on St. Patrick’s Day in New York City.
“I was deeply disappointed in myself, but moreover disappointed that I let my dad down,” Lawler told News 12 in an interview Wednesday.
Lawler noted further that at the time, his father was a recovering alcoholic battling cancer, the New York Post reported.
Lawler said he had previously disclosed the 2012 drunken driving charge during a presentation on distracted driving at Nanuet High School last month, where he discussed the incident with students as part of a broader conversation about the dangers and consequences of impaired driving.
“It was not my proudest moment. It was something I was deeply embarrassed about,” he told the students.
“More importantly, I could’ve killed myself or someone else. I was grateful that I was pulled over and nobody was hurt,” he added.
Lawler was arrested on March 17, 2012, along the Palisades Parkway, according to reporting by The Journal News at the time.
He was initially charged with driving while intoxicated but later pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of driving while ability impaired, a traffic violation under New York law.
Lawler represents one of a small number of Republican-held swing districts that Democrats are targeting as they seek to regain control of the House of Representatives in this November’s midterm elections, The Post noted.
VOTE 2026 EXCLUSIVE: As he runs for reelection in one of the country’s most closely-watched House races, Congressman Mike Lawler sits down with me for his first one-on-one interview about a drunk driving arrest from his past. Story tonight on @News12 #mikelawler #ny17 pic.twitter.com/PKZJM2zRdX
— Tara Rosenblum (@tararosenblum) July 15, 2026
A former New York state assemblyman, Lawler won reelection in 2024 by defeating former Rep. Mondaire Jones, a Democrat, even as Vice President Kamala Harris carried the district in the presidential race.
Lawler is facing Democrat Cait Conley in November.
A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a former intelligence official, Conley has sought to position herself as a centrist candidate as she campaigns to unseat the incumbent Republican.
Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani strengthened his influence within Democratic politics Tuesday after all three congressional candidates he endorsed won their primary races earlier this month, delivering a major victory for the city’s growing democratic socialist movement.
The results marked a significant test of Mamdani’s political clout following his rise to prominence in New York politics.
His endorsed candidates scored victories in several closely watched House races, defeating establishment-backed opponents and reshaping the political landscape ahead of November’s general election.
Among the night’s biggest upsets were victories by Brad Lander and Darializa Avila Chevalier.
Lander defeated incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., while Avila Chevalier unseated five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y.
In New York’s open 7th Congressional District, Democratic Socialist candidate Claire Valdez also prevailed despite outgoing Rep. Nydia Velázquez backing a different candidate in the race.
The victories completed a clean sweep for Mamdani’s slate of endorsed candidates.
Following Valdez’s win, Mamdani appeared at a celebration event where he addressed supporters.
“The old politics that got us into this crisis is not the politics that’s going to get us out of this crisis,” Mamdani told the crowd.
Many political observers viewed the mayor’s decision to intervene aggressively in congressional primaries as a gamble.
Instead, the outcome reinforced his standing as one of the most influential figures in New York Democratic politics.
With the districts expected to remain safely Democratic in November, the primary winners are widely viewed as strong favorites to join Congress next year.
The results also expanded the presence of democratic socialist-aligned lawmakers within New York’s congressional delegation.
