By: Ilana Siyance
The democratic-controlled legislature has unleashed plans to alter the congressional maps, which would slash New York’s Republican delegation by half. As reported by the NY Post, on Sunday the newly proposed congressional maps were unveiled, which if approved would eliminate at least one upstate GOP seat and jeopardize three more.
The redistricting seeks to eliminate the current upstate district, which GOP Rep. Claudia Tenney of Binghamton now holds. The change is said to reflect a population loss, creating a new 22nd District split between the seats held by retiring GOP Rep. John Katko of Auburn and Democratic Rep. Antonio Delgado of Kingston. “We’re confident,” said a source for the Post, “if these maps pass, Claudia will run in the 23rd. Her family business is in Chenango.” As per the Post, a source close to Tenney said she will run for election in the newly configured 23rd District which still would represent four of the eight counties she currently represents —namely, Broome, Tioga, Cortland and Chenango.
The redistricting could essentially eliminate four of the eight seats currently held by Republicans in the state legislature. The new lines would grant Democrats an advantage in 22 of the state’s 26 congressional districts, in time for November’s midterm elections. It is being called the latest tactic for House democrats in a bid to hold on to their narrow majority. “It’s a brutal map for Rs,” said Dave Wasserman, a senior editor at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. “BREAKING: here is NY Dems’ full congressional proposal, courtesy of @zach_solomon1. This is a 22D-4R gerrymander–and a pretty effective one,” Wasserman posted on Twitter, sharing a picture of the new map.
New York’s new 1st District would be at risk. The seat now held by GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin of Suffolk, who is leaving to pursue a bid for governor, would be “creating an exceptional Dem pickup opportunity,” tweeted Wasserman. Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’s seat will also be on the line as NY district 11 would no longer represent just Staten Island but would add progressive sections of Brooklyn.
State Republican Party Chairman Nick Langworthy slammed the plans as a “brazen and outrageous attempt at rigging the election to keep Nancy Pelosi as speaker.”
“Democrats are circumventing the will of the people,” he said in a statement.
Democrats in the Legislature got control of the map-drawing process after bipartisan negotiations fell through in January. Lawmakers are slated to vote on the new maps as early as Wednesday.
“We are reviewing all of our legal options to protect the voices of millions of New Yorkers.” said Langworthy.
