The images emerged as Lawler, a first-term Republican, is locked in a competitive reelection fight for his congressional seat in New York's Hudson Valley.

Washington — Rep. Mike Lawler, a New York Republican in a tight race for reelection, apologized for wearing blackface as part of a Michael Jackson costume when he was in college.

For the first time since the blackface controversy for New York Congressman Mike Lawler surfaced, his Democratic opponent in the upcoming election offered his thoughts on the matter.