Photos Show New York Congressman in Blackface as Michael Jackson

Representative Mike Lawler, a Republican locked in a tight race for re-election, dressed as the pop star for Halloween as a college student in 2006.

Representative Mike Lawler of New York wore blackface as part of a Halloween costume when he was a college student almost two decades ago, according to photographs recently obtained by The New York Times.

The images, taken around October 2006, show a 20-year-old Mr. Lawler at a campus social gathering dressed as Michael Jackson. He is wearing a black shirt and a red jacket and, in one photo, is striking a signature Jackson dance pose. His face has also been visibly darkened.

Mr. Lawler, a rising Republican standout from the Hudson Valley, has frequently described himself as an ardent Jackson fan. But the photos are the first known instance of Mr. Lawler, who is white, dressing as the Black musician by wearing blackface, a practice that has long been considered racist.

The images may come into play in Mr. Lawler’s fight for re-election this fall against Mondaire Jones, a Black former congressman, in a suburban swing seat. The Republican is also eyeing a run for governor in 2026.

Mr. Lawler, 38, did not dispute the photos’ authenticity. In a statement, he said that the costume was intended to be “truly the sincerest form of flattery, a genuine homage to my musical hero since 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,” he said. “Let me be clear, this is not that.”