Meet Misleading Mike Lawler, New York's Wannabe Gubernatorial Challenger to Kathy Hochul
Part one of a very long, and in-depth, investigation into the constant stream of misinformation, disinformation, and outright lies peddled by Rockland County's Congressman, Misleading Mike Lawler.
Can I tell you something funny? Or. Funny to me, at least? Congressman Mike Lawler — or MAGA Mike as his constituents have taken to calling him, or Misleading Mike as we call him here at The Monroe Gazette — is a disinformation superspreader. Here’s one recent example, involving the SAVE Act that he said he was “proud to cosponsor”:
Below is a statement from Beth Lynk, the Director of When We All Vote, provided to The Monroe Gazette. Given Congressman Mike Lawler and his staff’s pattern of behavior, it’s safe to assume he’ll be labeling Mrs. Lynk, the non-partisan When We All Vote, and The Monroe Gazette “Radical Left Lunatics” after reading this story:
“Despite its name, the SAVE Act would not “save” anything — it is an outright attack on our democracy and undermines Americans’ fundamental right to vote. Democracy has to work for all of us, not some of us, and the SAVE Act is another attempt to silence voters and decrease participation in our elections.
“90 million Americans did not cast a ballot in 2024, and it’s clear that we should be making voting easier, not harder. The SAVE Act would make it more difficult for millions of Americans to register to vote and would disproportionately impact young voters, Black and Brown voters, women, lower-income voters, rural voters and Americans impacted by climate disasters. The requirement to provide proof of citizenship documents in person to register to vote or update their voter registration would effectively end online, automatic and mail-in voter registration.
“Registering voters online and in person is at the core of When We All Vote’s work increasing participation in every election and closing the race and age voting gaps. Registering to vote can be overwhelming, and we provide voters with the resources and tools they need to get registered and ready to make their voices heard. Last year, When We All Vote helped more than 300,000 Americans register or check their voter registration. The SAVE Act would eliminate this work, and make registering to vote a daunting task.
“While proponents of the bill try to distract us with false declarations that they are protecting our elections, we see through their hollow claims of voter fraud and attempts at voter suppression. We know the truth: Only eligible citizens vote in elections.
“If our voices weren’t so powerful, they wouldn’t be trying so hard to silence us. Our democracy is being stretched to its limits by blatant, targeted voter suppression. This year, there are more than 100,000 local elections across 45 states, and more than 280 bills making it harder to vote have already been introduced. But we still have power. Voting rights protect every other right, and the fight to protect and strengthen our democracy continues with legislation like the recently introduced John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to dismantle racist barriers to voting.
“Our work doesn’t end at the ballot box, it starts at the ballot box, and we encourage current and future voters to take action now by urging the Senate to vote ‘NO’ on this dangerous bill.”
Given Misleading Mike Lawler’s statements on the SAVE Act, we’ve included additional information from the Brennan Center for Justice here for readers.
The Monroe Gazette is conducting a deep dive research project concerning Misleading Mike Lawler. We’re going through his entire history here in Rockland County, and plan to present what we find as he prepares to run for re-election. So if you don’t know much about Misleading Mike Lawler right now, we hope you’ll join us. Once a week, we’ll be posting a new fact check based on something false or deceptive that he’s sad.
Some of you might be asking:
Is Mike Lawler running for re-election or Governor?
It’s looking less likely that he’ll run against Governor Kathy Hochul — who sucks — in next year’s gubernatorial race as the Republican nominee.
Misleading Mike Lawler’s plans to run against Governor Kathy Hochul appear to have been dashed, and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik now looks like the one to run against Hochul in 2026.
That means, Rockland County won’t be rid of Congressman Mike Lawler so easily. The first indication that Lawler plans to run for re-election came when Lawler announced how much he raised for his re-election bid. We will talk more about that fundraising announcement in an upcoming fact check of Misleading Mike Lawler.
Here’s what to know right now:
In 2024, Congressman Mike Lawler’s largest donor was AIPAC (The American Israel Public Affairs Committee.) Based on current FEC filings, AIPAC will again lead all donors to Congressman Mike Lawler in 2025. As of this writing, they are the top donor this quarter:
So it’s fair to say Mike Lawler is less a man of the people and more a man of the Super PACS based on where his money comes from. It’s also unlikely that AIPAC would be giving him tens of thousands of dollars if Lawler was going to run against Hochul. (They made other contributions this quarter aside from the top donation you see above.)
Who’s AIPAC? AIPAC is a far-right, pro-Genocide political action committee that works on behalf of the corrupt and unpopular Netanyahu regime in Israel. Here in the States, they push Democratic congressional representatives to the right. All while simultaneously funding their Republican opponents like Mike Lawler. Don’t let the name fool you. AIPAC has less to do with Israel and more to do with funneling money on behalf of Billionaire Trump Donors to shape our politics as they see fit. We are going to talk more about AIPAC in upcoming posts.
So, whenever you hear Congressman Mike Lawler talk about anti-semitism, as a Jew, I can safely tell you he’s not talking about actual antisemitism. And I can prove it: Check out how little Lawler had to say here about the attack on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. Now compare that brief statement with what Lawler discusses when discussing “anti-semitism.” (Among the MAGA Nazis, when they say anti-semitism, what they mean is criticism of Israel.)
For example, Misleading Mike can be seen below peddling a bogus Trump Justice Department report concerning Harvard University. Lawler often uses far-right media outlets (The New York Post, The Daily Caller) and conservative think tanks to bolster his points.
Trump, like he is with law firms and the media, is also currently attacking our universities under the guise of fighting anti-semitism. Criticism of Israel? Misleading Mike gives you a whole ass thread. An actual attack on someone who’s Jewish during Passover? Two sentences.
If you doubt me on what the MAGA Nazis means when they talk about Anti-Semitism, here’s the man who literally helped define the term, and his concerns about its weaponization by the Trump administration and Misleading Mike Lawler to attack universities such as Harvard.
Mike Lawler Uses Sock Puppets To Deceive His Constitutents
Recently, LoHud.com ran a Pro-Mike Lawler Op-Ed from Brendan Martin, pictured on the right with the Congressman.
The Pro-Lawler Op-Ed initially identified Brendan Martin by saying, “Brendan Martin is a resident of Stony Point and was a senior advisor to Rep. Mike Lawler's re-election campaign.” After the op-ed ran, Mr. Lawler used an excerpt on his Facebook Page, without disclosing that the quotation came from someone actively working on his re-election campaign.
After Executive Editor Carrie Yale at LoHud.com was contacted by The Monroe Gazette (and others), the bio at the end of the Op-Ed was changed to read, “Brendan Martin is a resident of Stony Point and is an advisor to Rep. Mike Lawler's re-election campaign.” (emphasis added.) Brendan Martin did not respond to requests to comment on whether or not he tried to pull a fast one here on Rockland County and Westchester residents, but we will update this story if he decides to write us back. Mrs. Yale told The Monroe Gazette:
Regarding your query about the op-ed written by Brendan Martin, we looked into the matter and found that Martin is still currently an advisor on Lawler’s campaign.
We included in the bio that Brendan Martin is a resident of Stony Point and is an advisor to Rep. Mike Lawler's re-election campaign.
We take transparency very seriously and your feedback is valuable, especially during times of heightened scrutiny. We aim to maintain the integrity of our publication while providing diverse viewpoints. I will ensure that we review our processes to uphold these standards. Thank you once again for your input.
I have to admit to being a little disappointed in LoHud, because it didn’t take much to find this about Brendan Martin on his LinkedIn Profile:
Oh well.
When Is Mike Lawler Holding a Town Hall?
We have a lot of readers in Rockland County, and this has been the most asked question.
The good news is, he is finally holding a Town Hall on April 27th at 6pm in the Clarkstown South High School.
The bad news is that the event is sold out. Allegedly. You see, getting tickets to the event has been something of a shit show. Something his team refused to clarify or even acknowledge when asked by The Monroe Gazette. For that reason, we encourage Rockland residents to continue using the website to see if tickets become available. We also encourage residents who attend to ignore the Lawler campaign’s requests and record the event on their phones.
And yes, we did indeed request a press credential to attend the Town Hall and document it for you. The Misleading Mike Lawler team adamantly refused our request. Apparently, I hurt Misleading Mike’s feelings when I told him to go fuck himself. Since Ciro Riccardi (the spokesman for the Congressman) specifically cited my Facebook post below when declining our request,
The Monroe Gazette has seen screenshots alleged to have been sent to Town Hall attendees. The screenshots cite unspecified threats to the Congressman, which his team also did not address when we asked about them.
So, let’s say that’s true. If so, I’m pretty sure Mike Lawler has heard and been told far worse than to go fuck himself.
The good news is that I know people who got tickets to this event. So, sorry Team Lawler. The Monroe Gazette’s going to have eyes on you no matter what.
I will take time once a week (or so) to fact-check something Misleading Mike Lawler has told his followers. Starting with his campaign finance claims where his former business partner was bragging about how successful Lawler was.
Since the man wants to be Governor, or at least have another term in Congress, we think it’s necessary and proper to give him the same scrutiny we give Democratic Congressman Pat Ryan.
We’re not often able to cover a lot of stuff happening in Rockland County, but we can absolutely cover this man for you.