Cait Conley is running to unseat Republican Mike Lawler in New York’s 17th Congressional District. She uses her 16 years of military service to connect with voters. "Watching this administration destroy the very values that we fought for," she said in a June interview, explaining why she started her campaign.
Cait Conley, a Democrat trying to unseat the Republican incumbent Mike Lawler, is hoping that New York voters' distaste for President Trump will carry her to victory.
If there is one thing that voters probably know by now about Cait Conley, the Democratic challenger in a critical House race in New York, it's her background as a soldier.
Her 16 years of active duty service have been at the forefront of her campaign from her first ads, which showed a fighting-fit Ms. Conley knocking out pull-ups and bench-press reps with the words "special operations" and "terrorist hunter" superimposed above her.
On the trail, she draws a direct line between her six tours overseas and her campaign in New York's 17th Congressional District.
"Watching this administration destroy the very values that we fought for -- that I was willing to die for -- become something I barely recognize was unacceptable," she said in a June interview.
Democrats hope that Ms. Conley's military service and patriotic message will help her to replicate the successes of other women who used their military careers to connect with voters outside the Democratic base, including Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Gov. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey.