New York judge approves new congressional maps
A state judge late Friday finalized the state's new congressional maps early, setting off a scramble among lawmakers and congressional candidates to figure out their districts – or what districts to run in.
State Judge Patrick McAllister released the new maps just before the midnight Saturday deadline. It followed a chaotic week in New York politics after Jonathan Cervis, a special master appointed by the court, released a draft map that was less favorable to Democrats than the one drawn by the Democratic-controlled legislature. The state Supreme Court had appointed Cervis after throwing out those maps earlier this year.
Cervis made a few changes in the final maps released late Friday, but the new map still only has 15 safe Democratic districts, three safe Republican districts and eight competitive districts. New York's current congressional delegation has 19 Democrats and eight Republicans, and the state is losing a seat due to the population loss in the 2020 census.
"What this map does is create eight competitive districts in which either party has a reasonable chance to win and three districts in which Republicans are likely to win," McAllister wrote.
While the ruling laid out some of the concerns of the new maps, the new map still leaves in place the new 12th District in Manhattan, which will result in longtime Reps. Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney running against each other. Nadler, a powerful Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, tweeted early Saturday that he would run in this new district.
A potentially nasty setup had been brewing in New York's 17th District, currently represented by Rep. Mondaire Jones. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the campaign arm for House Democrats, lives in the current 18th District but the new map had him living in the 17th District. He quickly announced he would be running in the 17th, saying it not only included his home but "many of the Hudson Valley communities I currently represent." But Jones told Politico that Maloney "did not even give me a heads-up before he went on Twitter to make that announcement."
Jones tweeted early Saturday that he would be running in the newly-created 10th District, which runs through Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. The announcement sets up a primary battle with former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who said Friday he would be running for that seat.
Nicole Killion contributed to this report.