EXCLUSIVE — In the crowded Democratic primary to decide Mike Lawler’s challenger, Cait Conley’s campaign is working behind the scenes to tar one of her closest competitors, Rockland county legislator Beth Davidson, as a “far left political operative” who is “going to make Democrats lose this seat,” because she worked with progressive groups like Emily’s List and the “New York State Nurse’s Association” (sic), according to a memo it sent the Judge Street Journal.
“The main thing I want to highlight in the attached doc is that Beth’s clients have worked to defund the police, abolish ICE, supported allowing transgender individuals to play on the sports team with which they identify, and pass Medicare for All that would ban private health insurance and double taxes,” a Conley strategist wrote in an email titled “No prints pitch - Beth Davidson’s 30-year far left political operative career.”
Conley’s campaign sent the email to a Journal reporter before seeking his agreement to receive it without attribution. Such arrangements require two-party consent before documents are exchanged, and no such agreement was mentioned before the strategist sent the memo to the Journal.
The Journal received the memo from the same person with whom it communicated for its last two stories about Conley, but when asked for comment for this story, that strategist claimed, “This pitch is from The Bench, not from the Conley campaign. This was part of a broader research document about the entire primary field, including Cait.”
“The Bench” is a new Democratic group backing young, outsider candidates. According to the memo’s digital author history, though, it was created by Matt Poms, an employee of Spiros Consulting, which Conley paid $36,650 in November for “research,” according to campaign finance records.
Davidson’s work for Emily’s List isn’t newsworthy—but Conley’s campaign plotting behind the scenes to attack her for it certainly is. Emily’s List is the largest pro-choice organization in the country and has a record of a wide array of centrist and progressive endorsements. Conley’s aversion to the organization is particularly striking for a candidate who is said to be the Democratic Congressional Committee’s favorite in the race.
“Let us get this straight...Cait Conley is attacking Beth Davidson for her work with EMILY’s List - which works to elect women and protect a woman’s right to abortion - and historic women Senators like Angela Alsobrooks and Patty Murray? Interesting choice,” Davidson’s campaign manager, Ellen McCormick, told the Journal.
The memo provides a candid glimpse into the mechanics of a candidate whose stump speech leans more ambiguous outrage than affirmative vision of politics. Conley usually opts instead for a folksy rant about Lawler’s misdeeds, with a sprinkle of “affordability.” The strategy has allowed her to avoid staking out full positions on thornier issues.
“Beth Davidson’s nearly 30-year career as a political operative will be an unparalleled opportunity for Mike Lawler to save his seat,” the memo begins. “Davidson has spent years working for and being paid by progressive Democrats, providing Republicans with ample fodder to paint her as a far-left extremist political consultant.”
According to the memo, one of the “top lines of attacks against Mike Lawler has been his status as a slimy swamp creature,” referring to his past career as a political operative before running for office.
“As a potential nominee against Lawler, Beth Davidson would not be able to make this attack, and would not be able to present a clear contrast as above the political swamp,” the memo says.
Conley goes on to highlight a list of people for whom Davidson worked: “senate campaigns for Gary Peters, Angela Alsobrooks, and Patty Murray, Political consulting firms Dover Strategy Group, Avalon Consulting Group, Burdick Consulting Group, and Run the World, Progressive political organization Emily’s List, [and] The New York State Nurse’s (sic) Association,” among others.
“Davidson’s clients have worked to defund the police, abolish ICE, supported allowing transgender individuals to play on the sports team with which they identify, and pass Medicare for All that would ban private health insurance and double taxes,” it says.
The memo’s repeated mention of transgender youth sports marks a shocking departure from Democratic orthodoxy. Last cycle, the party fought an expensive and demanding battle to pass the Equal Rights Amendment in New York—which prohibited discrimination on the basis of gender identity by invoking vague language critics claimed would legally enshrine students’ rights to play on the sports team of their choosing. The issue affects a very small number of students, but it proved to be a lightning rod in both state and national elections: Long Island Congressman Nick LaLota railed against Prop 1 under the “Coalition to Protect Kids” while the Trump campaign blasted “Kamala Harris is for they/them” ads across the country.
Conley refused to say how she feels about transgender youth playing on the sports teams of their choice.
The memo goes on to note that Alsobrooks, whose Maryland senate campaign paid Davidson $4,500 in consulting fees, “stripped Prince George’s County police of resources and ‘realigned’ funding for other purposes. Alsobrooks also supported sanctuary cities and the Green New Deal.”
Conley also took shots at Davidson’s work with NYSNA—the state’s largest nurses union— “which has promoted Medicare for All and defunding the police. The organization also endorsed socialist candidates for office such as New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.” Last month, Conley received an endorsement from Hudson Valley Congressman Pat Ryan, who also endorsed Mamdani over the summer.
Calling Mamdani “mayor-elect” suggests the memo was written before he was sworn in. When pressed if she’d want the 34-year-old socialist’s endorsement, Conley kept him at arm’s length, telling PIX11 she’s “focused on the Hudson Valley in New York 17” before admitting she’d like to harness a similar type of energy.
Conley’s memo ends with some harsh words for Emily’s List.
“Davidson’s more than a decade of work for Emily’s List will also allow Republicans to connect her to hundreds of progressive candidates across the country that the organization endorsed in that period and attack Davidson for their views,” it says. “And it will allow Republicans to raise questions and demand greater transparency about the work she’s done, distracting voters from Lawler’s shady career and failing to present a clear and contrasting choice for New York voters.”
The Conley campaign’s fear of Emily’s List underscores what a careful race she is running—keen to avoid anything that might allow Lawler to slander her as a radical. But the strategy raises questions about which organizations she’ll be willing to work with as Election Day approaches and endorsements start rolling in.
While it hasn’t yet chosen a candidate this cycle, Emily’s List endorsed Liz Whitmer Gereghty in the district’s 2024 Democratic primary. In the general election, Mondaire Jones struggled significantly, after a falling-out with the Working Families Party, which could have probably deployed more resources on his behalf. His campaign was also mired by rehashings of his past lefty statements and Conley’s strategy in this memo rests on the assumption that Jones’ downfall was his old progressivism instead of his new centrism.
“Also on the lefty angle,” Conley’s strategist wrote to a Journal reporter in a follow-up with a link to a Youtube video, “last night at a healthcare forum Beth was supportive of Medicare for All. Clip starts at 1:00:14.”
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Correction: This story has been updated to clarify that “The Bench” is a formal group, and to include that Conley refused to provide the Journal her own opinion on transgender youth sports.