Cait Conley tells Rep. Mike Lawler not to ‘mansplain’ about domestic abuse

Democrat Cait Conley told Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) during a televised debate Wednesday night not to “mansplain” to her about domestic abuse as the pair discussed an alleged gang rape at a Cornell University fraternity in 2024.

During the debate, the moderator from PIX11 News—an affiliate of Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill— asked Conley and Lawler whether there should be a federal definition or law for consent, after the Cornell rape allegations drew national headlines .

Conley had accused Lawler of failing to call out Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), who is under intense scrutiny after allegations leveled by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, that he hurled hot water at her, pointed a gun at her head and broke their daughter’s collarbone.

“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,” Lawler said, before firing back at Conley for 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.”

Spitzer held a fundraiser for Conley last year, according to Politico, which Conley has faced intense criticism for. Spitzer stepped down as New York governor in 2008 after a prostitution scandal.

Conley then replied, “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.”

The moderator had also asked both candidates whether they agree with the Education Department’s decision to formally rescind the Biden-era Title IX interpretation that gave sex-based discrimination protections to students on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Both Lawler and Conley said they opposed the change.

The two also clashed over the war in Iran, with Conley arguing that she does believe “that we need to take military action to ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.”

Differing from most Democrats, she said initially, “I did agree with the strikes that the administration took on the targeted locations associated with the nuclear weapons development programs in Iran, and I believe that is the smart approach that we should have continued to sustain in order to degrade their capabilities.”

However, Conley argued the Trump administration got “us into this war of choice in a way that is not making America any less or any more safe. I think this is a real challenge that Congress should be stepping up to the plate on.”

She said Lawler has “just continued to give Donald Trump a green light with zero accountability,’ instead of holding the president and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accountable.

Asked why he thinks it is necessary for America to remain in this conflict with Iran, Lawler said, “Because I’m not going to put politics above a righteous decision about our national security. Iran cannot possess a nuclear weapon. Period.”

“That is why I have voted against efforts to undermine our national security,” Lawler said.

The pair also went head to head over artificial intelligence, data centers, military aid to Israel and other topics. A recent Emerson College and PIX11 survey found Lawler trailing behind Conley by two percentage points.

The survey found around 48 percent of likely voters in the district supported Conley, while 46 percent backed the Republican lawmaker. The remaining respondents were still undecided less than five weeks out from the November election.