NEW YORK — Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) at least twice in the past month has missed or sidestepped opportunities to condemn racist language in public settings, POLITICO has learned on the heels of a New York Times report that he wore blackface in college.

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.