The road to a Democratic House majority may run through an Albany courtroom if Empire State lefties have their way.
In June, the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court in Albany will hear arguments in a case seeking to overturn New York’s current district lines and have them redrawn by the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission for the remainder of the decade.
Any new map even vaguely resembling the state’s old partisan gerrymander — which was repeatedly tossed by courts — would almost certainly result in Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island) and Rep. George Santos (R-Long Island) being ousted by Democrats. Rep. Nick Lalota (R-Long Island), Rep. Mike Lawler (R-Rockland) and Rep. Brandon Williams (R-Syracuse) could also be in big trouble, GOP insiders say.
The GOP’s narrow majority in the House — well below their projected expectations in the last election — has left them with little room for error. The party’s strong showing in New York’s unusually competitive districts in 2022 is widely credited with providing their balance of victory. If Democrats could turn all five NY seats, they would be well positioned to return to power.
“It’s extremely serious. The House majority was built off the wins Republicans were able to secure in New York. If those maps are overturned the path to keeping the majority becomes a lot rockier,” said one top GOP congressional aide of the 2024 elections.
New York’s current districts were drawn up by an impartial special master because the commission could not agree on lines and the legislature’s subsequent gerrymander was tossed by the courts.
Last week Gov. Hochul and State Attorney General Letitia James jointly filed an amicus brief urging the court to toss the current lines.
“I am committed to protecting the rights of all New Yorkers to fully participate in our electoral system,” Hochul said in a statement. “We are urging the court to support the Constitutionally-protected process in order to ensure accountability and fairness for New York voters.”
Critics, however, say the effort was nothing but a naked power grab by House Democrats.
House Minority Leader “Hakeem Jeffries and his crew are behind this whole effort,” said former upstate GOP Congressman and redistricting expert John Faso.
“Their contention is that the redistricting that was mandated by the court last year only applied for 2022 and that for the rest of the decade the legislature and the IRC should have another crack at it,” Faso said. “This is, as Joe Biden might say, malarkey. It is a ridiculous reading of the law and the constitution.”
Malliotakis said, “Governor Hochul and the corrupt Democrats in Washington and Albany are trying to undermine our democracy and influence our elections once again. They are shameless and continue to disrespect the courts and our constituents, even after three different courts rejected their unconstitutional gerrymander.”