Cait Conley

Cait Conley
Conley in 2023
Member-elect of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 17th district
Assuming office
January 3, 2027
SucceedingMike Lawler
Personal details
BornCaitlin Conley
1985 or 1986 (age 40–41)
Hudson Valley, New York, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
Education
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service
2007–2023
RankMajor

Caitlin Conley (born 1985/1986) is an American politician and national security official who served 18 years in the U.S. Army. She is the Democratic member-elect for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York's 17th district after defeating incumbent Republican Mike Lawler in the 2026 election.

Conley served as an officer in the U.S. Army for 16 years with overseas deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Conley later led the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)'s election security efforts during the 2024 elections and was a director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council.

Early life and education

Conley is a native of the Hudson Valley region of New York, splitting her time growing up between Pine Bush and Beacon. She graduated from Pine Bush High School in 2003. Her father was a construction worker and her mother was a postal worker. Her grandfather and great-grandfather both worked in a Montrose brickyard. She is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. She later earned a Master of Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Master of Business Administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Military career

After graduating from West Point, Conley served as an officer in the U.S. Army for 16 years. She completed six overseas deployments, in Iraq and Afghanistan, and was one of the first women to lead a special ops team. Early in her career, she was a military police platoon leader in the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, based at Fort Lewis in Washington. In January 2010, while Conley was deployed to Iraq with the platoon as a lieutenant, she was among the soldiers who met Vice President Joe Biden during his unannounced visit to Baghdad. She later spent more than a decade in the special operations community, serving as a team leader and a troop commander for regional and global counterterrorism task forces.

From 2021 to 2023, Conley served as a Director for Counterterrorism on the National Security Council. In 2023, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs added Conley to a list of 500 Americans barred from entering the country, one of several entry bans imposed in response to what it described as the Biden administration's "anti-Russian sanctions". The New York Times attributed the ban to her counterterrorism work.

National security career

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Senior Advisor, Cait Conley, introduces the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas (not shown).

After leaving active duty in 2023, Conley joined the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) as a senior advisor to director Jen Easterly. That year, she took over the agency's election security portfolio from Kim Wyman, becoming CISA's lead official for coordinating election security with state and local officials ahead of the 2024 election. In the run-up to the election, she was a frequent public voice for the agency, describing the election cycle as facing "the most complex threat landscape we've seen for an election cycle" while describing U.S. election infrastructure as more secure than in any previous cycle. On the morning of the election, Conley reported no evidence that malicious activity had materially affected the security or integrity of the election process. She left her position after the inauguration of Donald Trump in 2025. She worked as a consultant at anti-drone systems company Hidden Level and data company Primer AI for 19 months.

In 2023, Conley also joined the bipartisan Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs as the executive director of the Defending Digital Democracy Project, which worked to create strategies for election security.

Political career

2026 congressional campaign

On March 24, 2025, Conley announced her candidacy for New York's 17th congressional district. The district is one of three Republican-held seats nationally that Kamala Harris carried in the 2024 United States presidential election, leading Democrats to target it as a pick-up district.

Conley is a moderate Democrat. Conley's campaign has emphasized homeland security and public safety, protecting Medicaid and Medicare, and codifying abortion rights.

In June 2026, Conley won the Democratic primary with 49.6% percent of the vote, defeating four other candidates. Her campaign was endorsed by VoteVets and the New York Working Families Party.

In October 2026, during a debate with Mike Lawler, both candidates were asked by a moderator from PIX11 News if there should be a federal definition for consent. This was asked in the context of the Cornell rape allegations. Conley accused Lawler of failing to call out Representative Max Miller, an Ohio Republican, for the domestic violence allegations he is facing from Emily Moreno. Lawler responded to this accusation saying: "First of all, I did not blame Emily. I know both of them. It's very tragic, and it should be dealt with in family court," and then accused Conley of taking "money from Eliot Spitzer, who trafficked young women across state lines for the purpose of sexually abusing them, and you refuse to return those funds. You refuse to denounce him in any way." Refrencing the fundraiser Spitzer held for Conley in 2025, which she received immense amounts of criticism for. Conley replied stating: "I do not need you to mansplain to me what domestic abuse and sexual assault against women is and the appropriate response. Don't start. Sit over there. I do not need you to mansplain to me, Mike."

In November 2026, Conley won the race for New York's 17th congressional district after Lawler conceded.

Personal life

Conley is an out lesbian.

Election results

New York's 17th congressional district, Primary Election 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Cait Conley 23,263 49.6
Democratic Beth Davidson 14,938 31.8
Democratic Effie Guadalupe Phillips-Staley 7,196 15.3
Democratic John Cappello 758 1.6
Democratic Michael Sacks 756 1.6
Total votes 46,948 100.0

References

  1. ↑ "Center Alumni Tapped to Serve the Nation | The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs". Belfer Center. June 8, 2026. Retrieved August 28, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Oreskes, Benjamin (March 24, 2025). "Democrat and Army Veteran Enters Key N.Y. House Race". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 28, 2026.
  3. ↑ Mancini, Ryan (June 23, 2026). "Lawler to face combat veteran in key toss-up House race in New York". The Hill. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  4. ↑ To Flip a G.O.P. House Seat, Cait Conley Leans on Her Military Résumé
  5. 1 2 Walsh, Joan (January 13, 2026). "Hell Cats vs. Hegseth". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Cait Conley". EMILYs List. Retrieved November 4, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Cait Conley". Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
  8. 1 2 Stanton, Andrew (June 24, 2026). "Cait Conley's chances of beating Mike Lawler to flip GOP-held seat in NY". Newsweek. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
  9. ↑ Ashford, Grace (June 24, 2026). "Cait Conley Wins Primary to Face Mike Lawler in N.Y. Swing District". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 28, 2026.
  10. 1 2 Fontaine, Scott (January 24, 2010). "Biden visits deployed troops". The Olympian. pp. A3. Retrieved August 28, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Cait Conley". Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. Retrieved August 28, 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 Cassidy, Christina A. (June 30, 2023). "Army combat veteran to take over key election security role working with state, local officials". The Associated Press. Retrieved August 28, 2026.
  13. ↑ Capellini, Jeff; Herrera, Alexa; Aiello, Tony (June 24, 2026). "Cait Conley wins NY-17 Democratic primary, CBS News projects". CBS News. Retrieved August 28, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Foreign Ministry statement on new personal sanctions on US citizens". The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. May 19, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  15. ↑ Hallam, Jonny; John, Tara (May 19, 2023). "Russia bans '500 Americans' including CNN journalists". CNN. Retrieved August 28, 2026.
  16. ↑ Matishak, Martin (June 30, 2023). "CISA lines up new leader of election security efforts". The Record. Retrieved August 28, 2026.
  17. ↑ Matishak, Martin (June 18, 2024). "November election will be 'more secure than any previous,' US cyber official says". The Record. Retrieved August 28, 2026.
  18. ↑ DiMolfetta, David (November 5, 2024). "CISA has not clocked any 'national-level significant incidents' impacting the election, official says". NextGov. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  19. 1 2 Ashford, Grace; Oreskes, Benjamin (September 20, 2026). "G.O.P. Seizes on Democrat's Ties to Defense Companies in N.Y. House Race". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  20. ↑ Campanile, Carl (July 30, 2026). "New York Rep. Mike Lawler's race now a 'toss-up' as Dems target battleground district". New York Post. Retrieved August 28, 2026.
  21. ↑ Baratta, James (October 1, 2026). "A Tale of Two Toss-Ups". The American Prospect. Archived from the original on October 1, 2026. Retrieved October 19, 2026.
  22. 1 2 3 Fernandez, Madison; Beeferman, Jason; Sommerfeldt, Chris (August 7, 2026). "What El-Sayed's win means for AOC". Politico. "The people of NY-17 deserve a leader who will actually fight for them, and Cait Conley is ready to step up and serve her community," NYWFP director Jasmine Gripper said in an announcement first shared with Playbook.
  23. ↑ Thakker, Prem (May 30, 2025). "The Fight for New York's 17th Congressional District". The Nation. The Nation Company LLC. Archived from the original on April 25, 2026.
  24. ↑ DiMolfetta, David (March 24, 2025). "Former election security official announces run for Congress in New York". Nextgov. Retrieved August 28, 2026.
  25. 1 2 "New York 17th Congressional District Primary Election Results". The New York Times. June 23, 2026. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 28, 2026.
  26. ↑ Facciola, Timmy (June 24, 2026). "Cait Conley wins NY-17 primary to take on Lawler". City & State NY. Retrieved August 28, 2026.
  27. ↑ "Cait Conley tells Rep. Mike Lawler not to 'mansplain' about domestic abuse". The Hill. October 15, 2026. Retrieved November 4, 2026.
  28. ↑ CBS New York (November 4, 2026). Lawler concedes to Conley in NY-17 race | 2026 election results (Video). Retrieved November 4, 2026 – via YouTube.
  29. ↑ Gallagher, John. "Cait Conley hands Republicans a defeat in a swing district in New York". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved November 4, 2026.