Republican Rep. Mike Lawler has launched a television advertisement targeting his Democratic opponent, Cait Conley, accusing her of supporting artificial intelligence data centers and drawing attention to her consulting work with AI firms. The ad, which is running in the battleground 17th congressional district in New York's Hudson Valley, features a clip of Conley stating, "We need data centers."
The narrator in the 30-second spot claims Conley has "hundreds of thousands of reasons" to support data centers, alleging she received a "massive six-figure payday from the AI companies she steered contracts to when she worked for Biden." A note on screen states Conley was paid $328,000 by AI firms Primer and Hidden Level, which received federal defense contracts, including during her tenure as a national security adviser to former President Joe Biden.
Lawler appears in the ad stating, "I’m Mike Lawler and I approve this message because I’ll protect our community for your family and mine," before transitioning to a family-oriented video clip. The advertisement, coordinated by Lawler and the National Republican Congressional Committee, is slated to run for nine days on broadcast and cable television, streaming services, and digital and social media.
The 17th District, encompassing Rockland County and parts of Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess counties, is considered a key target for Democrats seeking to regain control of the House of Representatives. Both the Cook Political Report and the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics rate the race as a toss-up.
The Conley campaign has refuted Lawler's claims, characterizing the ad as a desperate attack that distorts her record. A spokesperson for Conley stated that she supports a data center moratorium, while Lawler opposes one. The campaign asserted that under Lawler's tenure, five data centers have been built in Rockland County, increasing utility costs for residents. They also accused Lawler, a former utility lobbyist, of profiting from data centers and receiving substantial contributions from Big Tech.
Furthermore, Conley's campaign alleged that Lawler voted for $80 billion in tax breaks for the AI industry and supported measures to ease the construction of data centers. The campaign pointed to contributions Lawler received from Morgan Stanley's PAC and JP Morgan's PAC, noting that these financial institutions received significant tax breaks from Rockland County for their involvement with data centers in Orangeburg.
The dispute highlights the growing controversy surrounding AI data centers, which has emerged as a contentious issue in the current election cycle, with notable bipartisan opposition to their development in local communities.
Lawler and the GOP have reportedly outspent Conley and the Democrats on advertising. Lawler, currently serving his second term, previously unseated former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney in 2022 and defeated Rep. Mondaire Jones by six points in 2024, despite the district leaning Democratic in presidential elections. Conley, an Army veteran, won a competitive primary for the Democratic nomination, presenting herself as a moderate challenger in the suburban district.