The tone of the raucous town halls Rep. Mike Lawler held this spring gave an early indication of the political heat ahead for his district in next year's election cauldron.

A line of Democrats already had launched campaigns by then to take on the second-term Republican from Rockland County in 2026. Eight in all are now vying for a seat seen as up for grabs by either party and a particularly tantalizing target for Democrats. It's one of only three GOP-held House districts in the entire U.S. that presidential candidate Kamala Harris won, even if only by half a percentage point.

The general election is a year away, with plenty of unknowns ahead to alter the political landscape. But some big markers are already in place to shape a race with stakes far beyond the Hudson Valley. Nationally, it

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