PBS News Hour

JUDY WOODRUFF

While the GOP underperformed expectations nationwide in the election, stronger-than-expected performances in New York could ultimately make the difference when it comes to control of Congress. Republican representative-elect Michael Lawler won in a formerly deep blue district just outside New York City, knocking out a Democratic leader in the process. I spoke with him moments ago. Congressman-elect Michael Lawler, welcome to the "NewsHour." Congratulations on your victory. We looked it up. It's been since the early 1960s that New York state has been sending mostly Democrats to Congress, but just this week in this election, you flipped four seats from Democrats to Republicans. What's going on in New York? MIKE LAWLER (R),

New York Congressman-Elect

Well, we have seen a -- certainly a surge in the number of Republicans. We flipped four seats on Tuesday night, and we're going to end up sending 11 out of the 26 members of Congress in New York, which is certainly a big increase from where we have been. I mean, back in 2008, after that election, we were down to two members. So, over the last decade-plus, we have been steadily chipping away at it. And here on Tuesday night, we certainly made big gains. And a big part of that was the redistricting fiasco earlier this year in New York. Sean Patrick Maloney, my opponent, as chair of the DCCC, sent a memo to state Democrats demanding that they gerrymander New York's congressional maps and knock Republicans down to three members. Ultimately, they did that. But the courts intervened, threw out the maps, declaring them unconstitutional, and appointed a special master. And, ultimately, the maps that we got were fair. And that's why so many of these districts were competitive on Tuesday night.

JUDY WOODRUFF

Yes, no question redistricting had a lot to do with it. Was that the main thing?

MIKE LAWLER

I would say redistricting, coupled with the fact that Democrats control everything in Washington, Albany and New York City for the first time in our nation's history. And they created a mess, a 41-year record high on inflation, surging crime, skyrocketing energy prices, and a porous Southern border. And even in deep blue New York, voters were very frustrated with what was going on. And they wanted to restore balance and common sense. And that's why we picked up four congressional seats. We picked up a number of state Assembly seats, and even flipped some state Senate seats. So voters really wanted to send a message in New York that one-party rule just does not work, and that we needed to ensure some balance. And I think that, in addition, Sean Patrick Maloney only represented 25 percent of this new 17th District. And so he didn't have the built-in advantages of incumbency, because I represent 20 percent of the district in the state Assembly. And so we were running pretty much equal. And I was coming out of Rockland County, which was about 2 percent of the district, and I won it by 10 points, which really made the difference here.

JUDY WOODRUFF

Right. You mentioned inflation. You also mentioned what you call surging crime. What is the crime situation in your district? We know that Sean Patrick Maloney accused you of blowing it out of proportion. I mean, how unsafe are the people of your district?

MIKE LAWLER

Well, number one, in New York state, and in New York City, specifically, which is neighboring to my district, we have seen crime increase. And since cashless bail took effect, indexed crimes are up 36 percent in New York City. And, statewide, 40 percent of those released on nonmonetary bail for felony offenses have been rearrested. Crime is relatively stagnant in my particular district, but 50 percent of households in my district have a cop, a firefighter, a first responder or a veteran living in them. And many of those folks work in New York City as part of the NYPD or the FDNY. And so crime was a major issue of concern. A lot of our residents commute into the city to work. So it's not just a function of the crime rate in my district specific. Crime in New York City impacts everybody, and especially in the immediate suburbs.

JUDY WOODRUFF

Tell us what -- in a nutshell, what are your -- that is clearly a priority. What are your other priorities? And, as we know, Republicans are picking up seats in the House. It appears they are going to have the majority, but not by as big a margin as had been expected. How much do you think you can get done with a small majority in the House?

MIKE LAWLER

Look, we're going to obviously have to work together to pass an agenda. But Kevin McCarthy laid out a Commitment to America. Many of those issues were issues that I campaigned on. Obviously, we need to tackle the cost of living and the rising inflation. We need to increase domestic production of energy, if we want to help bring down the cost of gas and home heating, as well as groceries. We need to secure our Southern border and stop not only the massive inflow of illegal immigration, but fentanyl pouring into our communities. And, at the end of the day, to me, we have an obligation to ensure that every American, regardless of their political party, can afford to live here. And that is my primary focus. That is why I ran in the first place. And that is my objective. One of the things that I want to tackle is lifting the cap on SALT. I think, for areas like mine, where we pay among the highest property taxes in America, we -- our residents have been negatively impacted by the cap on state and local tax deductions on your federal income tax. That's a priority.

JUDY WOODRUFF

Two -- just two very quick questions. How much do you expect you are going to be able to work with Democrats, work across the aisle?

MIKE LAWLER

Well, in Albany, I have among the most bipartisan voting records in the state legislature. I voted with the Democratic speaker 81 percent of the time and my Republican leader 91 percent of time. So I worked across the aisle extensively. I have every intention of doing that here. It doesn't work when we just go from one extreme to the other and back and forth, we go. We need to get things done on behalf of the American people and the residents of each of our districts who sent us here. That's my objective. I think the president and Democrats will also have to make some compromise. And I think there's got to be a willingness on all sides to tackle these issues. The American people are suffering right now, especially when it comes to the cost of living, with record inflation and skyrocketing energy costs. And we have to get that under control. That's my priority. That's my focus. And I have every intention of working across the aisle to get things done.

JUDY WOODRUFF

And last question. You said in another interview today that you think the Republican Party needs to move forward beyond Donald Trump. But, as you know, many Republicans still support him. Do you think that's realistic? And who are you supporting in 2024?

MIKE LAWLER

Look, the former president will make his decision with respect to whether or not he runs in 2024. And, ultimately, the voters will decide. I think there's a lot of great rising stars within the party. And I think, as we look forward to the future, it's important to have new voices in that process. But we will see how the -- how that process plays out in the coming weeks and months ahead.

JUDY WOODRUFF

Representative-elect Michael Lawler from New York, thank you very much. And, again, congratulations.

MIKE LAWLER

Thank you.