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Tensions flared on the debate stage Wednesday night, where Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., faced off against Democrat military veteran Cait Conley to represent their suburban New York district in Congress.
Lawler is vying for a third term representing the Empire State’s 17th Congressional District.
One of the few swing seats left in Congress, the race could prove decisive for which party controls the House of Representatives for the latter half of President Donald Trump’s term.
Below are some of the most dramatic moments during their one-hour head-to-head on PIX11 News:
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Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., is running for a third term against Democrat challenger Cait Conley. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images ; Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images)
Lawler calls out moderator for ‘focus on gangbanger’ shot by ICE
While the debate was filled with the two political rivals criticizing each other, one tense moment came when Lawler turned his ire on moderator Dan Mannarino.
Mannarino had asked both Conley and Lawler what should be done to rein in Immigration and U.S. Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who run afoul of their own guidelines, invoking the recent shooting of an illegal immigrant in the Bronx by federal officers while the man’s five-year-old was in the car.
Lawler pointed to the man’s rap sheet and accused Democrat state leaders of creating the situation with their sanctuary policies and Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recent bail reforms. He also accused Conley of supporting those policies.
The moderator began, “Mr. Lawler, I just want to follow up. The question was, how do you ensure if ICE agents do not follow through objectives, and what’s the discipline —”
“I understand the question,” Lawler said amid the cross-talk.
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“But you didn’t answer the question,” Mannarino said.
“I understand the question. But here’s the problem, Danny,” Lawler shot back. “You guys want to focus on a gangbanger who has put people in harm’s way? I want to make sure that our communities are safe.”
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Protesters near the scene where a man was shot by an ICE officer during an operation in the Bronx borough of New York City on Oct. 8, according to local media and police; the suspect Oscar Belgal. (Charly Triballeau / AFP via Getty Images; WNYW)
Lawler and Conley clash over Sheridan Gorman’s killer
The GOP incumbent notably used the immigration standoff to pivot to the case of Sheridan Gorman, a teen from his district who was shot and killed near her college campus in Chicago earlier this year. The accused is an illegal immigrant who was previously arrested for shoplifting but was never turned over to ICE due to Chicago’s sanctuary policies.
Conley called Gorman’s death an “atrocious crime,” while Lawler repeatedly said over her, “It was preventable.”
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“Can I finish?” an irate Conley shot back. “It was an atrocious crime committed in Chicago. And that man should have been deported. And I do support federal agents and federal law enforcement, federal immigration enforcement, making sure that we deport violent criminals.”
Lawler then pointed out, however, that the man would only have been deported if the sanctuary laws were not in place — laws he has repeatedly accused Conley of supporting along with her fellow Democrats.
“This is important,” Lawler began as the moderator tried to regain control. “If you think he should have been deported when he was arrested for shoplifting, he should have been turned over to ICE. Under the new law that you support, he will not be turned over to ICE and he will be released under cashless bail.”
“Mr. Lawler, there’s not a cross-examination round, so thank you,” the moderator said.
Conley quipped at her GOP rival, “If you wanted to be the moderator, you should have volunteered.”
A program handed out to supporters of the Gorman family who attended a Memorial Vigil held in Yorktown, N.Y. (Richard Beetham for Fox News Digital)
Conley accuses Lawler of ‘mansplaining’ on sexual assault
At another point, the candidates were asked whether there should be a federal definition or law for consent to help stop sexual assault.
Conley took the moment to attack Lawler for being allied with Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, a fellow House Republican who has been accused of domestic violence by his wife. Miller has denied the allegations.
Lawler said their matter was “tragic’ and should be dealt with in family court without blaming either side. He then accused Conley of taking money from former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who was revealed to be a client in a 2008 federal probe into a prostitution ring. Spitzer was never criminally prosecuted and resigned from his governorship amid the scandal.
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“I’m sorry. I do not need — I do not need you to mansplain to me, domestic abuse and sexual assault against women,” Conley snapped. “Don’t start. I do not need you to mansplain to me, Mike.”