Scoop: Sean Patrick Maloney mulls political comeback against Mike Lawler

• For Maloney, a former chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, it's a shot at redemption after losing to Lawler in 2022.
• Maloney had represented the neighboring district, NY-18, for 10 years but decided to challenge Lawler after his residence was drawn into NY-17, which scrambled internal Democratic politics.

Zoom out: Lawler is a key target of the DCCC as one of three Republicans to win a district that voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris.

• Lawler is also considering running for governor, which could potentially set up a showdown with Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y).
• "With at least seven far-left candidates already announced in the Democrat primary for New York's 17th District, I'm sure Democrats are excited about the prospects of Sean Patrick Maloney making a come back — because it worked out so well the last time," Lawler posted on "X".

Zoom in: Maloney hasn't made a final decision and likely won't until the fall, according to a person familiar with the matter.

• He returned to the U.S. from Paris this spring after serving as former President Biden's ambassador to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and is setting his family back up in New York.

• But he has told allies he thinks Lawler is vulnerable and Democrats need to win the suburban seat if they want to capture the majority, according to people familiar with the matter.

Flashback: GOP leaders spent heavily to defeat Maloney in 2022. Republicans gained nine seats in the cycle, which gave them a thin majority.

• But many Republicans were disappointed they didn't capture more seats in Biden's first midterm election, when many party strategists had predicted a massive red tsunami.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with a comment from Lawler.