Democratic state legislators in New York unveiled a new congressional map that will likely give Democrats a boost as the party seeks to maintain its majorities in Congress in the midterm elections.
The new map, which is expected to be signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, brings the state’s current 27-seat delegation to 26 seats due to population loss found by the recent census.
The redrawn lines will likely cut the number of Republicans in the state’s delegation in half, bringing the current delegation of 19 Democrats and eight Republicans to a delegation of 22 Democrats and four Republicans.
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The expected GOP losses will likely come as the party seeks to win back a House majority it lost in 2018.
In a statement, New York GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy called the maps “the most brazen and outrageous attempt at rigging the election to keep Nancy Pelosi as Speaker.”
“Voters spoke loud and clear in rejecting their partisan power grab last year and in 2014, but Democrats are circumventing the will of the people,” Langworthy said. “They can’t win on the merits so they’re trying to win the election in a smoke-filled room rather than the ballot box. Governor Hochul herself admitted she would collude with Washington Democrats to ensure that Joe Biden has the votes for his failed, socialist agenda. For all of their phony protestations about transparency and fairness in elections, what they’re doing is textbook filthy, partisan gerrymandering that is clearly in violation of the New York State Constitution. We are reviewing all of our legal options to protect the voices of millions of New Yorkers.”
Langworthy’s statement referenced a 2014 resolution giving redistricting power to an independent commission over legislators. But the independent commission failed to reach a consensus, instead creating one Republican map and one Democratic map for lawmakers. New York Democrats have a majority in the Legislature.
The new map would draw Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of Staten Island into a more Democratic-leaning district, making her more vulnerable in the rematch election with former Democratic Rep. Max Rose in November.
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Two Republican-leaning areas on Long Island currently represented by Reps. Lee Zeldin and Andrew Garbarino would merge into one district. Zeldin is currently seeking the Republican nomination for governor.
The map also erases a conservative upstate district held by Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney, creating a new Democratic-leaning district instead. On Monday, Tenney announced her intentions to run in a new neighboring district instead.
