NY’s new congressional maps under fire for giving boost to incumbents
New York’s new congressional maps unveiled Thursday were already facing backlash out of the gate over claims they’re drawn to help those already in office cling to their seats.
A bipartisan redistricting panel approved the maps, complete with significant changes to at least three battleground districts – including redrawing Republican Brandon Williams’ 22nd district to include more Democrat-friendly territory like the city of Syracuse and the village of Auburn.
But before they even approved the maps, Orange County state Sen. James Skoufis (D) was already calling on the maps to be thrown out, calling into question whether the proposal would hit a required two-thirds majority needed in the Democrat-controlled state Senate.
“These maps are a disgrace and ought to be rejected by the Legislature,” Skoufis said in a statement.
Without Skoufis – and potentially other Democrats – Republicans would need to vote to pass the new maps. Redistricting maps need a two-thirds majority when one party controls both chambers of the legislature, as Democrats do today.
The co-chairmen of the committee acknowledged that the current maps were used as a basis for the new maps, but they pushed back on the idea the proposed lines would help people already in office.
“Good redistricting principles do require you to consider the cores of existing districts and that’s just true,” said Republican Charles Nesbitt, who chairs with Democrat Ken Jenkins.
While Democrats stand to potentially benefit from the changes to the 22nd District, that comes at the cost of giving Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-19) some more conservative-leaning ground in Central New York such as northern Otsego County, Rep. Pat Ryan (D-18) would also likely benefit by having some areas north of Kingston, like Woodstock included in his district.
The 16th district, the site of a hotly contested Democratic primary between ‘Squad’ member Jamaal Bowman and moderate challenger George Latimer remains unchanged. The neighboring 17th district, held by first-term Republican Mike Lawler, is also virtually unchanged under the new proposal.
The new lines now head to the state Legislature and subsequently Gov. Kathy Hochul for approval. This will effectively be the second set of maps sent to the legislature, therefore if they fail to pass either chamber, that will give the Democratic majorities in either house the ability to draw their own lines.
Former gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin called on lawmakers to pass the commission’s plan Thursday.
“The State Legislature should pass AS IS the bipartisan congressional maps approved by the IRC,” Zeldin said. “It’s time to end the chaos and confusion Albany Democrats and DC Democrats have insisted on torturing New Yorkers with for illegal, self-serving political calculation and power grabbing. If the Democrats in the Legislature insist on playing even more hyper partisan political games, they are going to find themselves right back in court.”
Petitioning for Congressional races is slated to begin Feb. 27, giving candidates and boards of elections little time to adjust to the changes.
New York’s congressional races may be crucial for the control of the House of Representatives following the 2024 election. Under the current maps, four of New York’s Congressional Districts are rated as toss-ups by the Cook Political Report.
Democrat Tom Suozzi’s win in a special election in Nassau County and Queens Tuesday leaves Republicans with a narrow six-vote majority in the chamber.
The maps are being redrawn after the state’s highest court ruled the redistricting commission should get a second crack at submitting plans to the legislature. The commission broke down during its first attempt to draw the maps in 2021, ultimately leading courts to draw the districts that are currently in place.
