Michael Lawler

Representative Mike Lawler, a New York Republican facing a tough re-election fight, disclosed on Wednesday that he was arrested on St. Patrick’s Day 2012 on suspicion of drunken driving, an incident that he has not made public in his previous campaigns for Congress or the State Legislature.

Mr. Lawler, 39, said in an interview with News 12 that the arrest took place one night in 2012, when he was executive director of the New York State Republican Party.

Mr. Lawler said he pleaded guilty in Rockland County to a reduced charge of driving with ability impaired, a violation. A brief police blotter account, published in The Journal News, said the arrest occurred at 10:15 a.m. on the Palisades Parkway in Haverstraw. A representative of Mr. Lawler, Chris Russell, called the time stamp of the item “inaccurate,” adding: “This happened at night; 10:15 p.m., not a.m.”

No public record of the arrest or disposition of the court case was made available by his campaign.

In an interview with News 12, Mr. Lawler said that he had recently learned that his father was gravely ill. After drinking heavily in New York City, he said he was pulled over driving home on the Palisades.

“I was deeply disappointed in myself but moreover, disappointed that I let my dad down,” he said, noting that his father was a recovering alcoholic who had been sober for 20 years.

Mr. Lawler’s re-election bid in New York’s Hudson Valley is one of the most-watched House races in the country, with the swing district a focal point for both parties as they battle to control Congress.

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