NEW YORK — Rep. Mike Lawler was trashed by his Democratic opponent for “mansplaining” to her about the legal issues surrounding the Cornell gang rape probe during their crucial final debate as the midterm fight for the suburban New York 17th Congressional District enters the home stretch.

Democrat Cait Conley lashed out at Lawler when he tried to talk over her as she called for changes to state laws regarding sexual consent that have hampered the probe into the 2024 Cornell attack.

“I do not need you to mansplain to me what domestic abuse and sexual assault against women is and the appropriate response,” Conley warned Lawler. “Don’t start. Sit over there.”

A progressive supporter of Conley predicted the “mansplaining” barb would be an effective tactic in the affluent Westchester County-based district that was represented for years by the late Rep. Nita Lowey and in which women will likely cast the majority of ballots this year.

“So many women can relate to the frustration of being talked over by men on an issue they know all too well,” said Shannon Powell of Indivisible Westchester, who has previously warned that Lawler will be tough to unseat.

Conley, a military veteran, also put Lawler off balance by repeatedly tying him to President Donald Trump’s unpopular policies.

Lawler, a self-described moderate GOP congressman, was caught on camera rolling his eyes and making facial expressions as Conley pounded him for siding with Trump even as voters give the president failing marks on issues like the economy and the war in Iran.

“My opponent votes time and time again for Trump’s agenda ... not for the Hudson Valley but for Donald Trump,” Conley charged in one exchange.

In the spin room after the hourlong scrap that was aired on WPIX-TV Wednesday night, Lawler brushed off his reactions as those of a normal New Yorker facing bogus claims.

“I’ve been eye-rolling since I was born,” the two-term incumbent told reporters.

Analysts said Conley succeeded in staying on message and getting Lawler out of his comfort zone with unending references to his support for Trump, which cast doubt on his image as an effective critic of the leader of his own party.

“She flooded the zone with Trump criticisms at a frequency that seemed to visibly bother the Republican incumbent,” wrote Timmy Facciola, a journalist who is closely covering the marquee congressional race in his Judge Street Journal blog.

Conley appeared to hold her own against Lawler much better than at their first debate, where most analysts believed her political inexperience showed.

She parried an attempted gotcha question from Lawler by denouncing Mayor Zohran Mamdani for his controversial statement on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel, an effort to appeal to the district’s large contingent of Jewish voters.

Polls say Lawler is facing a very tough fight to win a third term amid growing signs of a powerful midterm Democratic blue wave that is expected to flip the House of Representatives.

Even though Lawler has built a powerful reputation as a gifted campaigner, he’s locked in what pundits call a toss-up race with Conley, a first-time candidate who has run an effective campaign and raised boatloads of cash.

Both parties have long viewed the Metro-North contest as one of the national marquee matchups of the midterms because Lawler is one of just three Republican lawmakers to win in 2024 in districts that also voted against Trump.

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