Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler has earned victory in his bid for a second term in Congress, the Associated Press has declared Wednesday morning.

Lawler held back a challenge from former Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones in the race for New York’s 17th Congressional District.

The freshman Republican congressman was leading Jones 57% to 41% with 94.18% of the expected vote counted, according to the latest unofficial results from AP.

Lawler will go back to Washington representing the Democratic-leaning district, which is made up of Westchester, Rockland, Putnam and southern Dutchess counties.

The makeup of the 17th District made Lawler a prime target for Democrats in one of the most watched races in the country this year after he unseated Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney — at the time the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — in one of the more surprising upsets in New York House races two years ago.

Jones represented the 17th District for a single term from 2021 to 2022 before redistricting. Lawler served as a member of the state Assembly before running for the House of Representatives.

A former officeholder taking on the incumbent gave the race more attention and millions of dollars flooded into the race over the last few months, with both candidates painting themselves as pragmatic moderates while describing their opponents as radical.