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.

U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler said he was sorry after the New York Times obtained photos of him wearing blackface about two decades ago at a college Halloween costume party where he dressed as Michael Jackson.

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.