new york Republican Rep. Mike Lawler channeled Michael Jackson during his victory speech this week.

On Tuesday night, Lawler defeated New York Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones for the state’s 17th District and later sang a Jackson song to start his victory speech, as well as performing a Jackson dance move.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Lawler was referencing a recent controversy during the speech or just expressing his Jackson fandom.

The Michael Jackson controversy

At the beginning of October, The New York Times published a 2006 photo of Lawler in blackface at a college Halloween party where he had dressed up as Jackson. Lawler defended the suit, saying it was meant as a tribute to his childhood idol.

In a statement to TimesLawler did not deny the authenticity of the photos and said the costume was worn to be “the sincerest form of flattery, a true tribute to my musical hero from when I was a little kid trying to moonwalk through my mom’s kitchen.”

“The ugly practice of blackface was the furthest thing from my mind,” said Lawler, per The New York Times. “To be clear, this is not it.”

“I’m a student of history and for anyone who takes offense to the photo, I’m sorry,” Lawler added in his statement to Times. “All you can do is live and learn.”

Conformable The New York Timesphotos of Lawler were posted on social media and shared with the publication last week. A newspaper reporter was able to authenticate the photos from those attending Manhattan College at the time they were taken.

Victory speech

During his speech after defeating Jones on Tuesday night, Lawler took the stage to Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.”

“Folks, tonight Hudson Valley told Mondaire Jones to ‘Beat It!'” Lawler said during his speech.

As he took the stage as the song played, Lawler also did a high kick, referencing one of Jackson’s popular dance moves.

Other races from New York

New York Democrats unseated two Republican incumbents in the U.S. House on Tuesday — one in the Hudson Valley and another in a district that includes Syracuse — regaining ground lost to the GOP in recent elections.

Democrat Josh Riley defeated freshman Rep. Marc Molinaro in a sprawling district that stretches from the Massachusetts border to New York’s Finger Lakes region.

In central New York, Democratic state Sen. John Mannion unseated Republican Rep. Brandon Williams, who was widely seen as one of the most vulnerable GOP incumbents this post-state cycle. Democrats withdrew his district to lean in their favor.

On Long Island, Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito faced a close rematch with Democrat Laura Gillen, a former city supervisor whom he defeated in 2022. Although the Associated Press had not called the race until Wednesday morning, Gillen declared victory, declaring that voters had opted for “common sense over chaos and corruption”.

This article includes reporting from the Associated Press.