Republicans in competitive New York congressional districts that could determine control of the U.S. House next year rallied behind former President Donald Trump Thursday, after a Manhattan jury found him guilty on 34 felony counts in the hush money case.

Suffolk County Rep. Nick LaLota suggested Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, should “immediately announce her intention to pardon” Trump. Syracuse-area Rep. Brandon Williams accused “far-left extremists” of having their “hands on the scales of justice,” while Nassau County Rep. Anthony D’Esposito labeled Trump’s conviction the end result of a “shameful witch hunt.” 

Alison Esposito, looking to unseat Democrat Rep. Pat Ryan in the Hudson Valley, called the verdict “ludicrous” and said “this is reminiscent of third world countries.”

Rep. Mike Lawler called it a “sad day for America” that “undermines our electoral process and our judicial system.”

“Our elections should be decided at the ballot box by voters, not by partisan prosecutors with a political ax to grind,” he said. 

Rep. Marc Molinaro responded to the verdict, saying, “This is how we’re going to do politics now? Not through spirited debates, but by weaponizing the justice and court system to attack a political rival.”

Of note, many of these statements fell in line with comments from other House Republicans, including more conservative lawmakers, like Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, who called the verdict “a travesty of justice.”

Joe Biden won many of these competitive districts in 2020, though a recent Siena College/New York Times poll showed his popularity in New York to be sagging compared to the last cycle. Republicans in several of these districts have publicly endorsed Trump’s White House bid.

How much, if at all, the guilty verdict will change the polling dynamic remains to be seen.

Democrats in these competitive seats were quick to try to tie their Republican opponents to the Trump verdict.

John Avlon and Nancy Goroff, running to be the Democratic nominee to take on LaLota, criticized the Republican incumbent. 

Avlon noted LaLota’s Trump endorsement, saying he is “supporting a convicted criminal for President who paid hush money to a porn star to cover up their affair while his wife was pregnant. That’s not the ‘law and order’ Washington Republicans like Nick LaLota like to talk and Tweet about.”

Goroff said LaLota’s call for Hochul to pardon Trump shows him to be “unfit for public office.”

Former Congressman Mondaire Jones, looking to unseat Lawler, said, “So much for Mike Lawler convincing Lower Hudson Valley voters that he actually believes in law and order.”

Meanwhile, Ryan tweeted at Esposito, asking, “Do you still support this convicted felon?”