The “Mike Spike”: Lawler under fire for rising costs

Empire State Voices, an advocacy group for working-class New Yorkers, is running a $7,000 ad campaign calling out Rep. Mike Lawler for voting to raise prices.

The ads, which refer to the rising costs as the “Mike Spike,” are running in newspapers across Lawler’s Hudson Valley district. There are also mobile billboards and a banner overhanging Interstate 287.

The ads identify three main ways Lawler has contributed to rising costs: voting for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), backing President Donald Trump’s tariff policy, and supporting the war in Iran.

Time Magazine reported in July that 450,000 New Yorkers have lost health insurance as a result of OBBB’s cuts to Medicaid and its failure to renew Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) subsidies. The cuts will fund tax breaks that primarily benefit wealthy people and big corporations.

Lawler praised OBBB, calling it a “blueprint for how we can govern responsibly.” In total, about 7.5 million Medicaid enrollees are expected to lose health insurance as a result of the law.

Lawler has also praised Trump’s tariff policy that went into effect last year, framing it as a short-term negotiation tool that will yield long-term gains.

A recent report from Democrats on the Joint House Economic Committee, however, says New Yorkers spent $310 more on groceries last year because of the tariffs. That is an increase of 4% since Trump returned to the White House.

The same report found that New Yorkers spent $432 more on gasoline as a direct result of the war in Iran. Lawler supports the conflict and voted against a war powers resolution that could have helped end it.

Dylan Wheeler, Empire State Voices Senior Organizing Director, says Lawler is more concerned with cable news appearances than his constituents.

“We need our Congressman to start supporting meaningful legislation to lower our costs, and stop putting partisan politics ahead of what’s best for New Yorkers,” Wheeler said.

Lawler is running for a third term this year. His Democratic opponent is Cait Conley.