‘I’ve never seen anything like it’: New York suburb overwhelmed by tight House race

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NEW YORK — Republican Rep. Mike Lawler was mobbed by people demanding selfies as he strolled through a trick-or-treating event at Strawtown Elementary School in West Nyack on Friday; He was ecstatic about the emergence of a first-term lawmaker seeking re-election in his battleground district.

However, none of them could vote. They were all children.

But here, after tens of millions of dollars were spent on a pivotal House race, kids surprisingly knew exactly who he was — or at least knew they were supposed to be, and were asking whether it was really him or someone wearing a hyper-realistic Lawler Halloween costume . .

This doesn’t mean the response is worthless; These children’s parents vote, and in the tight race between Lawler and former Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones, they could hold the key to the House majority.

While the kids were excited to see Lawler, their awareness also underlined how omnipresent race is here. But the voice of the real voters in this congressional district was different: Fatigue.

“Who invited him?” a parent asked at the event when he heard Lawler was coming to Strawtown.

Interviews with more than two dozen voters here revealed frustration with the explosion of campaign activity this cycle and complained they were being bombarded. Since I grew up here too, I’ve never seen it like this before.

Lawn signs are everywhere. Voters can’t go on YouTube or turn on the television without being bombarded with ads fueled by tens of millions of dollars in campaign spending. When I got home, mail requests for both sides were prepared for me to review – sent in just the last few days, there were enough to cover half the kitchen island. Many more had already been recycled.

Such activity is typical during election seasons, especially in competitive purple states throughout the Rust Belt and Sun Belt. However, people here are still trying to get used to the density.

Located in a deep blue presidential state, this suburb was long represented in Congress by veteran Democrats like Eliot Engel and Nita Lowey; Both sought re-election with nominal opposition in older versions of this district.

But now, with Lawler’s upset in 2022 and a tight presidential race, the district now finds itself at the center of the 2024 election cycle. In a politically divided region, voters are united in anger.

“I’m kind of bombarded with texts, I don’t know how I got on so many text lists,” said Republican-voting electrical engineer Robert Zucker of Valley Cottage.

“This is what happens when I go online, it comes up on my phone, I turn off the TV. I don’t want to hear ads from either side anymore. I just don’t want to hear them anymore. It’s very hard.” added Upper Nyack Democrat Shirley Lasker-Fox.

Some voters reluctantly understood the reason behind all this activity.

After all, the competition is on a knife edge, and suburban districts like this are central to both parties’ paths to power in Congress. They said that while it may not be ideal, this House race is important and therefore deserves the attention it is receiving.

But most residents were fed up.

Retired art teacher and Trump supporter Peri Karkheck called it “disgusting and disgusting.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.

Beyond being disappointed with the intensity of the mobilization, voters complained about the tense political atmosphere in the region. Some said no one wants to talk politics anymore. Others spoke of relations strained by political differences.

Two lawn signs on Strawtown Road read “YOU WANT TO SAVE AMERICA VOTE FOR TRUMP OR YOU ARE THE ENEMY!” it said.

This suburb never had a “small town” feel; a crowded neighborhood still full of people commuting to New York. But the tales of toppled lawn signs and graffiti on garage doors were a far cry from the atmosphere I remember growing up.

However, this was a time when elementary school students had difficulty recognizing members of congress.

“This is the most tense situation it’s ever been,” said Peekskill Democrat Kevin Riley. “It’s a really tight choice. A lot of people are nervous about it. I’ve got a couple of brothers going one way, and I’ve got another brother with me. And so, the debates, hopefully by Thanksgiving, we’ll have everyone kissing each other.”