Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) has publicly acknowledged that he was arrested on a drunken driving charge in 2012, describing the incident as one of the biggest mistakes of his life and using it as an example while speaking to students about impaired driving.
Lawler, who represents a competitive Hudson Valley congressional district, said he was arrested after driving 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 said in an interview with News 12.
Lawler noted that his father was a recovering alcoholic who was battling cancer at the time of the arrest.
The congressman said he had previously discussed the incident during a presentation at Nanuet High School last month, where he spoke with students about the dangers of distracted and impaired driving.
“It was not my proudest moment. It was something I was deeply embarrassed about,” Lawler 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.”
According to contemporaneous reporting, Lawler was arrested on March 17, 2012, on the Palisades Parkway.
He was initially charged with driving while intoxicated but later pleaded guilty to driving while ability impaired, a lesser traffic offense under New York law.
Lawler is seeking another term representing New York’s 17th Congressional District, one of the most closely contested House seats in the country.
He won reelection in 2024 by defeating Democrat Mondaire Jones, despite then-Vice President Kamala Harris carrying the district in the presidential election.
Lawler is expected to face Democrat Cait Conley in the November general election, per the Conservative Brief.
Conley, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and former intelligence official, has campaigned as a centrist while seeking to unseat the Republican incumbent.
Separately, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani claimed a significant political victory after all three congressional candidates he endorsed won Democratic primary elections earlier this month.
Among the highest-profile results, Brad Lander defeated incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman, while Darializa Avila Chevalier unseated longtime Rep. Adriano Espaillat.
In New York’s open 7th Congressional District, Democratic Socialist candidate Claire Valdez also secured the nomination despite opposition from outgoing Rep. Nydia Velázquez.
Speaking to supporters after the primary victories, Mamdani argued that Democratic voters were embracing a new political direction.
“The old politics that got us into this crisis is not the politics that’s going to get us out of this crisis,” Mamdani said.
