Republicans could lose seats after appeals court orders New York to redraw Congressional districts
ALBANY, N.Y. — An Albany appeals court ordered the redrawing of New York's congressional lines, giving Democrats a new chance to pick up seats and, possibly, affect which party controls the House of Representatives.
It's a decision which, if it is upheld, could change the political landscape of the state, and even of the country.
It could allow Democrats to shift as many as six house seats now held by Republicans.
"I think today's decision is a very reasonable one," St. Sen. Michael Gianaris said. "And to the extent this puts us back on track, I think that's a good thing."
Gianaris, the State Senate's deputy majority leader, leads his chamber's redistricting efforts. The decision by an Albany appeals court orders the state's Independent Redistricting Commission to redraw the lines for the state's 26 congressional districts. The court said the lines put in place last year had only been a temporary fix.
"I don't there was ever contemplated that one particular upstate judge for a very small town would be dictating the future of the congressional districts for the entire state of New York," Gianaris said.
The decision could have wide-ranging implications. The maps could be redrawn to make it almost impossible for Republicans like Mike Lawler and Marc Molinaro of the Hudson Valley and Anthony D'Esposito and George Santos of Long Island to withstand a Democratic challenge.
The maps could also be redrawn to affect Staten Island Republican Nicole Malliotakis.
Also under scrutiny are maps drawn last time that bisected Manhattan north and south instead of east and west, which put two incumbents - Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney - in the same district. Nadler won, and Maloney was out of a job.
Republicans aren't taking this lying down. They're appealing to the state's top court. House GOP Chairwoman Elise Stefanik and Republican Chairman Ed Cox said, "When Democrats can't compete, they cheat. Their illegal gerrymander violated the state constitution and bucked the will of the voters. The Court of Appeals must overturn this ruling, or Democrats will gerrymander the map to target political opponents and protect political allies - all to the people's detriment."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries could benefit if the Democrats pick up seats.
In a statement, Jeffries said, "The current congressional map was drawn by an unelected, out-of-town special master appointed by an extreme right-wing judge, who himself was handpicked by partisan political operatives."
"So now that the commission potentially will go back and do its job again, hopefully they will do it right this time, and we'll be able to get to a better result," Gianaris said.
Democrats also hope to have a better result for another reason. There's a new chief judge on the state Court of Appeals, which is expected to look more favorably on maps drawn by the Democrats.
