ActJew, a Jewish organization focused on combating antisemitism, announced its endorsements of Rep. George S. Latimer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) for reelection to Congress and state Sen. Shelley Mayer (D-N.Y.) for reelection to the state Senate. Latimer currently represents New York’s 16th Congressional District, Lawler represents the 17th Congressional District and Mayer represents the 37th state Senate District.
The three endorsements—two Democrats and one Republican, covering a state Senate seat and two neighboring Hudson Valley House districts—are intended to make a point, said ActJew CEO Michael A. Harris. The organization does not exist to support a party; it exists to support allies of the Jewish community.
“We are not a Democratic organization and we are not a Republican organization. We are a Jewish organization,” Harris said. “When the safety of Jews, the security of Israel and the fight against antisemitism are on the ballot, Jewish voters look at records—not letters after a name. Endorsing George Latimer, Lawler and Mayer on the same day is the clearest way we can articulate that.”
A call to end partisan silos
Harris is a lifelong Democrat and a former vice president of the Westchester Young Democrats. He served as New York state co-chair of Howard Dean’s presidential campaign and later worked for both the DNC and DSCC. He said critics who treat a Republican endorsement as a betrayal of Democratic identity—or a Democratic endorsement as a betrayal of conservative voters—are making the organization’s case for it. He pointed to ActJew’s prior split-ticket endorsements in Michigan and Florida as the same standard applied elsewhere: records over party labels.
“If endorsing a Democrat from Rye who used to chair the Westchester Democratic Party and a Republican from Pearl River in the same press release confuses the partisans, good,” Harris said. “It should. We have done this before—Benson and Rogers in Michigan, Jolly and Moody in Florida. Jewish Americans are done being seen as a captive constituency. ActJew will praise the people who stand with us and withhold our support from the people who do not—in either party. That is not triangulation. That is self-respect.”
Latimer: New York’s 16th Congressional District
For Harris, the endorsement is personal as well as institutional. Latimer, the former Democratic Westchester County executive, is serving his first term in Congress after defeating then-Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a DSA member, in the 2024 Democratic primary.
“I lived in what is now NY-16,” Harris said. “I served on the Westchester County Democratic Party’s executive committee when George Latimer was party chairman. I watched him build a majority the hard way—by talking to people who did not already agree with him. In 2024, he took on an incumbent Democrat who had made Jewish voters feel expendable, and he won. He saw us and stood beside us. That is the kind of congressman Westchester deserves and ActJew is proud to stand with him.”
Lawler: New York’s 17th Congressional District
Lawler is a Republican who represents a congressional district with a significant Jewish population. ActJew met with both Lawler and his Democratic opponent, Cait Conley, before deciding to endorse the incumbent.
The organization pointed to Lawler’s record of working across the aisle—including with fellow ActJew endorsees Latimer, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.)—Lawler has called Gottheimer his best friend in Congress, despite their partisan differences.
Gottheimer and Lawler introduced H.Res. 1239, condemning antisemitic rhetoric from prominent online personalities, including Hasan Piker and Candace Owens. Earlier this month, Lawler voted with those same Democrats to pass H.R. 4795, the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2026, legislation that would cut federal student-aid funds from colleges that join commercial boycotts of Israel.
“We sat down with Rep. Lawler and Cait Conley. That is what a nonpartisan organization does,” Harris said. “After those meetings, our board voted to endorse Lawler. His record of working across the aisle to combat antisemitism and his steadfast support for the State of Israel make him the right candidate to represent one of the most Jewish districts in the country. Party registration does not keep Jewish students safe on campus and it does not keep rockets out of Israeli cities. A record of leadership does and Mike has that.”
Mayer: New York State Senate District 37
Mayer, a Yonkers Democrat, represents a Westchester district that includes several Jewish communities in suburban New York. ActJew cited what it described as her consistent support for public schools and her work on antisemitism in Scarsdale and New Rochelle as key reasons for backing her. Mayer currently represents the 37th Senate District and chairs the Senate Education Committee.
“Mayer has represented her neighbors with seriousness and without the cheap theatrics that too often substitute for leadership,” Harris said. “Westchester families—Jewish families included—need a senator who shows up and does not treat Israel or Jewish safety as an optional plank. We are proud to endorse her.”
